EGINNER'S 
OOK 

FRANK  C.  PELLETT 


ailip  i.  1.  HtU  IGtbrarg 


?Jnrth  OiarDltna  g>talp  CnlUgj 

SP523 
P38 


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S0053262 


«*'^'U 


This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated 
below  and  is  subject  to  an  overdue 
fine  as  posted  at  the  circulation  desk. 


EXCEPTION:  Date  due  will 
earlier  if  this  item  is  RECALLED. 


5^N 


200M/09-98-981815 


BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 


Queen 


Drone 
ITALIAN    BEES 


Worker 


BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 


/ 

FRANK  C.  PELLETT  '^ 

associate  editor  american  bee  journal,  former  state  apiarist  of 

iowa;  author  "productive  beekeeping," 

"practical  queen  rearing,"  etc 


ILLUSTRATED 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LONDON 
J.  B.   LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT  1919,  BY  J.  li.  LIPPINCOTT    COMPANT 


PHINTED   BY   J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUAKE  PRES3 

PHILADELPHIA,    U.  S-  A. 


PREFACE 

In  writing  this  book  the  author  has  an- 
swered such  questions  as  are  put  to  him  in  the 
hundreds  of  letters  that  come  to  his  desk  from 
every  part  of  our  own  country  and  from  many 
foreign  lands.  There  is  a  constantly  increas- 
ing interest  in  beekeeping.  Men  and  women 
in  large  numbers  are  looking  to  beekeeping  as 
a  possible  source  of  hvelihood,  while  others 
find  an  interesting  diversion  from  routine  duties 
with  a  few  colonies  of  bees.  The  novice  wants 
a  book  that  covers  the  fundamental  without 
going  too  much  into  detail  regarding  the  vari- 
ous systems  of  honey  production.  This  book 
is  designed  to  meet  such  a  need,  and  does  not 
pretend  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  beekeeping. 
The  business  is  too  complicated  to  make  pos- 
sible anything  more  than  a  casual  introduction 
in  a  book  of  this  size.  Those  who  desire  to  make 
a  more  extended  study,  will  find  "  Productive 

5 

148718 


6  PREFACE 

Beekeeping,"  by  the  same  author,  or  some  sim- 
ilar book,  of  assistance  in  pursuing  the  subject 
further. 

It  has  been  the  author's  aim  to  set  down 
only  such  facts  as  will  be  of  practical  value  to 
the  beginning  beekeeper  in  producing  and  mar- 
keting honey.  The  author  has  had  practical 
experience  in  the  commercial  production  of 
honey.  His  work  as  State  Apiarist  of  Iowa 
and  as  Associate  Editor  of  The  American  Bee 
Journal,  has  given  him  opportunity  to  visit 
many  of  the  most  extensive  beekeepers  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  and  to  observe  the 
various  systems  of  honey  production  which  are 
profitably  followed.  Nothing  is  included  here 
which  it  is  not  believed  will  stand  the  test  of 
general  usage  under  a  variety  of  conditions. 

Frank  C.  Pellett. 

Hamilton  Illinois, 
April,  1919. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  Attractions  of  Beekeeping 11 

II  Outlook  for  Beekeeping 17 

III  The  Honey  Bee  Family 25 

IV  Necessary  Equipment 46 

V  Hives  and  Hive  Parts 61 

VI  Pasture  for  Bees 70 

VII  Suggestions  for  Getting  Started  with  Bees 85 

VIII  When  Bees  Must  Be    Fed 100 

EX  Use  of  Foundation 109 

X  Breeding  Better  Bees 118 

XI  Getting  the  Honey  to  Market 133 

XII  Enemies  and  Diseases  of  Bees 149 

XIII  Winter  Preparation 154 

XIV  Review  of  the  Season's  Work 160 

Glossary 169 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIG.  PAGE 

The  Queen,  the  Drone,  and  the  Worker Frontispiece 

1.  A  Good  Smoker 47 

2.  The  Value  of  the  Hive  Tool  is  Far  Above  Its  Cost 52 

3.  It  is  Easy  to  Remove  Honey  from  the  Hive  by  Placing  a 

Bee-escape  under  the  Super 54 

4.  Honey  is  Extracted  by  Placing  the  Combs  in  the  Baskets 

and  Revolving  Them  Rapidly 58 

6.  The  Langstroth  Frame 63 

6.  The  Hivebody  is  Like  an  Empty  Box 66 

7.  Hivebody  With  Frames  in  Place 66 

8.  Hive  for  Production  of  Honey  in  Sections,  or  Comb  Honey.  67 

9.  Hive  for  Producing  Extracted  Honey 68 

10.  A  Good   Brood   Comb   as  a  Result  of  a  Full   Sheet   of 

Foundation Ill 

11.  A  Comb  Composed  Largely  of  Drone  Cells  as  a  Result  of  a 

Narrow  Starter Ill 

12.  Full  Sheet  of  Foundation  in  Wired  Frame,  Ready  for  the  Bees  113 

13.  Different  Methods  of  Using  Foundation  in  Sections 116 

14.  The  Thin  Sheets  of  Wax  Are  Impressed  With  the  Cell  Bases 

of  Proper  Size  to  Induce  the  Bees  to  Build  Worker  Combs.  116 

15.  Queen  Cells  Produced  by  the  Cell  Cup  Method 128 

16.  The  Queen  Excluder  Prevents  the  Queen  from  Passing  into 

the  Super 129 

17.  Hive  Di\4ded  into  Three  Compartments  for  Mating  Queens  131 


BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

CHAPTER  I 

ATTRACTIONS  OF  BEEKEEPIXG 

Beekeepers  as  a  class  are  very  enthusias- 
tic about  their  occupation.  The  successful 
beekeeper  who  is  not  an  enthusiast  is  an  excep- 
tion aifd  there  is  no  class  which  welcomes  new 
recruits  more  warmly  or  gives  the  secrets  of  the 
business  more  freely.  One  who  having  once 
attended  a  typical  convention  of  beekeepers,  or 
a  field  day,  does  not  feel  something  of  this 
animated  interest  commonly  spoken  of  as 
"  bee  fever,"  is  never  likely  to  become  a  honey 
producer. 

Beekeeping  has  some  decided  advantages 
over  poultry,  gardening,  fruit  growing ,  or 
other  light  occupations  often  spoken  of  as  in  the 
same  class.  The  first  advantage  is  that  no  spe- 
ll 

D.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 


12  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

cial  situation  is  necessary.  If  the  bees  are 
within  Rying  distance  of  nectar-producing 
flowers  they  can  be  kept  ahnost  anywhere.  It 
is  sui'prising  in  what  unpromising  places  bees 
are  to  be  found.  An  occasional  hive  will  be 
found  in  the  attic  with  an  opening  through  a 
window  sash,  or  on  the  roof  when  there  is  no 
more  convenient  place  for  them.  Roof  apiaries 
are  not  uncommon  in  the  cities.  The  author  has 
visited  many  back  lot  apiaries  in  various  cities 
and  has  found  that  many  of  them  are  the  source 
of  several  hundred  dollars  of  yearly  revenue. 
By  placing  the  bees  at  the  back  end  of  the  lot 
and  facing  the  entrances  away  from  the  street 
there  is  seldom  complaint  of  annoyance  of 
neighbors,  especially  when  a  gentle  strain  of 
Italian  bees  is  kept. 

Another  great  advantage  of  beekeeping  lies 
in  the  fact  that  one  can  so  plan  his  work  that  a 
day's  absence  from  home  does  not  result  in  dis- 
aster or  inconvenience.     In  fact,  at  some  sea- 


ATTRACTIONS  OF  BEEKEEPING         13 

sons  of  the  year,  the  bees  need  little  attention 
for  days  or  weeks  at  a  time.  Poultry  must  be 
fed  daily,  while  the  bees  gather  their  own  food. 
Business  or  professional  men  or  women  who 
are  looking  for  a  light  occupation  to  take  them 
into  the  open  air  will  find  just  the  thing  in  car- 
ing for  a  few  bees.  On  stormy  days  when  it  is 
unpleasant  to  go  out,  the  bees  are  better  for 
being  undisturbed.  The  work  is  mostly  clean 
and  hght,  just  the  kind  of  work  that  should 
engage  the  attention  of  one  who  is  tired  from 
office  work. 

The  product  of  the  apiary  is  ready  to  serve 
when  it  is  taken  from  the  hive  and  needs  no 
special  preparation  on  the  part  of  the  house- 
wife. This  fact  is  too  often  overlooked  in  com- 
paring the  price  of  honey  with  other  foodstuffs. 
If  the  housewife  who  buys  the  family  groceries 
^vill  take  account  of  all  the  time  spent  in  pre- 
paring fruits,  vegetables,  etc.,  for  the  table  and 
add  the  cost  of  fuel  for  cooking  them,  she  will 


14  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

find  that  honey  is  a  very  economical  food  to 
serve  as  frequently  as  her  family  can  enjoy  it. 
The  Busy  Bees. — The  activities  of  the 
bees  are  sufficient  in  themselves  to  attract  many 
people,  even  though  there  was  no  profit  to  be 
made  from  the  production  of  honey.  On  bright 
days  when  one  most  enjoys  being  in  the  open 
air,  the  bees  are  tremendously  active.  There 
will  be  a  great  bustle  and  hurry  about  the  hive 
that  makes  one  feel  like  sitting  in  the  grass  and 
watching  them  for  hours  at  a  time.  There  is 
something  of  mystery,  also,  in  the  little  com- 
munity where  many  thousand  active  little  crea- 
tures live  together  in  perfect  harmony,  all  bent 
on  the  one  aim  of  piling  up  as  much  honey  as 
possible  while  the  nectar  is  abundant  in  the 
fields.  When  the  workers  are  no  longer  of  use 
to  the  community  they  receive  no  considera- 
tion from  their  busy  sisters,  but  are  permitted 
to  drag  themselves  off  to  die  alone.  If  they 
are  slow  about  leaving  the  hive  they  are  often 


ATTRACTIONS  OF  BEEKEEPING  15 

dragged  out,  as  there  is  no  place  for  the  decrepit 
and  the  infirm  in  the  economy  of  the  bee. 
\^^len  the  season  is  over  the  drones  are  no 
longer  likely  to  be  useful  in  the  fertilization  of 
virgin  queens,  they  are  also  driven  out  without 
mercy  to  die  of  cold  or  hunger  in  the  open  air. 
On  chill  autumn  days  little  groups  of  discon- 
solate drones  huddled  together  beside  the  hive 
are  a  common  sight.  When  they  are  no  longer 
permitted  to  return  to  the  warmth  of  the  cluster 
they  gather  into  little  bunches  to  get  such  com- 
fort as  they  can  from  each  other. 

^\niile  we  may  not  be  pleased  with  their  con- 
duct toward  the  helpless  members  of  the  com- 
munity, we  cannot  but  admire  the  singleness 
of  purpose  with  which  they  pursue  their  daily 
activities.  Seldom  do  we  find  a  student  of  na- 
ture but  sooner  or  later  becomes  interested  in 
bees  and  since  there  is  so  much  to  be  learned 
concerning  them  it  is  usually  a  lifelong  at- 
traction. 


16  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

Beekeeping  for  Women. — The  woman 
who  keeps  bees  does  not  have  problems  that  are 
essentially  different  from  those  which  confront 
a  man.  Many  women  are  engaged  in  honey 
production  successfully,  and  while  there  is  some 
work  for  which  she  is  not  physically  adapted, 
such  as  putting  the  bees  into  the  cellar,  where 
they  are  wintered  in  that  way,  it  is  usually  pos- 
sible to  have  such  heavy  work  done  by  men  or 
boys. 

Beekeeping  can  be  developed  to  occupy 
one's  entire  time  for  the  year  or  merely  the 
summer  season,  as  best  suits  one's  inclination 
and  opportunity. 


CHAPTER  II 

OUTLOOK  FOR  BEEKEEPING 

The  outlook  for  beekeeping  was  never  bet- 
ter than  it  is  now.  Greater  prosperity  for  an 
agricultural  specialty  has  always  come  with  its 
general  development  over  a  large  scope  of 
country.  This  has  been  notably  true  of  the 
dairy  industry  which  formerly  returned  but  a 
small  part  of  the  revenue  that  it  does  to-day. 

Beekeeping  as  a  business  is  very  new,  so 
new  in  fact  that  many  people  do  not  yet  realize 
that  beekeeping  offers  an  opportunity  as  an  ex- 
clusive occupation.  It  is  only  within  the  past 
half  century  that  honey  production  has  become 
commercially  possible  and  but  a  very  few  years 
have  passed  since  the  first  agricultural  college 
estabhshed  beekeeping  as  a  regular  part  of  its 
curriculum.    Within  the  recent  months  many 

2  17 


18  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

more  agricultural  colleges  have  added  this  sub- 
ject to  their  regular  work. 

The  total  output  of  the  apiaries  of  the  entire 
country  probably  does  not  amount  to  more  than 
a  pound  or  two  of  honey  per  capita  for  the 
population  of  the  country,  while  many  times 
the  amount  of  sugar  is  consumed  by  the  public. 
This  fact  should  offer  assurance  that  there  is 
no  immediate  danger  of  over-production  if  the 
beekeepers  use  good  business  methods  in  the 
development  of  markets. 

Food  Value  of  Honey. — In  a  recent  bul- 
letin by  the  Food  and  Dairy  Department  of 
Iowa,  iirhas  been  shown  that  for  actual  food 
value,  honey  is  one  of  the  cheapest  of  foods. 
While  with  most  foods,  a  large  part  of  the  bulk 
is  waste  which  adds  neither  fuel  to  warm  the 
body  nor  rebuilds  dead  tissue,  the  bees  have 
removed  most  of  the  waste  from  honey,  so  that 
it  is  nearly  all  consumed  within  the  body.  When 
its  actual  food  and  fuel  value  is  considered,  it  is 


OUTLOOK  FOR  BEEKEEPING  19 

shown  to  be  a  low-priced  product,  rather  than 
a  luxury  as  it  is  generally  regarded.  The  fol- 
lowing table  shows  the  comparative  value  of 
several  common  commodities  at  pre-war  prices 
as  shown  by  the  bulletin  above  mentioned. 

At  average  prices: 

Honey,  7  ounces 7  cents 

Milk,  1  quart 10  cents 

Cream  cheese,  5.6  ounces 9  cents 

Eggs,  10    25   cents 

Round  beefsteak,  1 2  ounces 15   cents 

Boneless  codfish,  15  ounces 20  cents 

Oranges,  8 20  cents 

Walnuts,  Sl/o  ounces 13  cents 

It  will  be  noticed  that  for  actual  food  and 
fuel  value,  honey  is  the  cheapest  food  in  the  list. 
The  table  is  designed  to  show  a  quantity  of 
each  article  exactly  equal  in  such  value  to  any 
one  of  the  others  shown.  Prices  have  since 
greatly  changed. 

If  the  beekeepers  will  use  diligence  in  lay- 
ing these  facts  before  the  public  there  will 
shortly  be  no  lack  of  demand  for  the  product  of 
the  hive.    Most  people  like  honey,  but  for  some 


20  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

reason  its  use  has  been  neglected  by  many,  who 
have  substituted  the  cheaper  corn  syrups  so 
widely  advertised.  When  it  is  considered  that 
these  low-priced  substitutes  are  low  in  sweet- 
ening value  and  also  injurious  to  the  digestive 
system,  it  will  only  require  that  the  public  be 
informed  of  the  facts  to  restore  honey  to  its 
former  popularity  as  a  food  product. 

The  establishment  of  courses  in  beekeeping 
in  so  many  agricultural  colleges  will  tend  to 
popularize  its  use,  since  its  merits  will  be  in- 
vestigated and  made  known  by  the  domestic 
science  departments  as  well  as  apiculturalists. 

Beekeeping  a  Specialty. — Beekeeping  is 
becoming  more  and  more  a  specialty.  While 
there  are  still  thousands  of  professional  people 
who  keep  a  few  bees  as  a  diversion,  the  bees 
under  the  apple  tree  on  the  general  farm  are 
becoming  fewer  every  year.  The  spread  of  dis- 
ease is  largely  responsible  for  this  condition. 
While  it  is  not  difficult  for  the  well-trained  bee- 


OUTLOOK  FOR  BEEKEEPING  21 

keeper  to  deal  with  bee  diseases,  bees  that  re- 
ceive no  attention,  other  than  to  give  them  a 
super  for  surplus  in  the  spring  and  to  remove  it 
in  the  fall,  sooner  or  later  fall  victims  to  ad- 
verse conditions. 

While  beekeeping  is  not  difficult,  bees  can 
never  be  profitable  without  intelligent  atten- 
tion. Those  who  are  devoting  their  attention  to 
bee  culture  are  receiving  as  large  returns  as 
those  who  follow  other  agricultural  specialties 
and  the  work  is  no  more  trying  nor  is  the  risk 
any  greater. 

In  few  locahties  are  there  bees  enough  to 
gather  the  nectar  in  the  fields,  most  of  which 
now  goes  to  waste.  While  good  bee  pasture 
is  not  plentiful  in  an  occasional  limited  local- 
ity, there  are  many  places  where  commercial 
orchardists  are  offering  some  inducement  for 
beekeepers  to  locate  within  reach  of  their  or- 
chards, because  of  the  better  fruit  crops  that 
will  result  from  the  increased  number  of  insects 


n  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

among  the  blossoms.  There  are  mitold  hun- 
dreds of  good  locations  that  will  support  profit- 
able apiaries  in  any  one  of  several  of  the 
northern  states  and  perhaps  as  good  openings 
in  many  of  the  southern  states.  In  only  a  few 
states  has  beekeeping  been  commercially  spe- 
cialized, although  the  development  bids  fair  to 
be  much  more  rapid  in  the  very  near  future. 

Possible  Development. — There  are  men 
of  limited  observation  who  are  breaking  into 
print  with  a  warning  against  a  possible  over- 
production of  honey.  Their  arguments  are 
very  weak,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  present 
output  might  be  doubled  two  or  three  times  over 
before  there  would  be  any  danger  of  over- 
production. As  an  example  of  the  possibilities 
of  market  development,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  point  to  the  growth  of  the  orange 
business  during  the  past  few  years.  Concern- 
ing the  growth  of  that  industry  Mr.  R.  C. 
Gano,  in  the  American  Bee  Journal,  writes 
as  follows : 


OUTLOOK  FOR  BEEKEEPING  23 

Experience  of  Orange  Growers 
Back  in  1895  the  orange  situation  was  much  what  the 
honey  situation  is  to-day.  Though  at  that  time  our 
national  population  was  over  65,000,000,  nearly  two-thirds 
of  what  it  is  today,  the  California  citrus  growers  found  it 
difficult  to  sell  at  a  fair  profit  an  orange  crop  which  was 
one-ninth  the  size  of  the  crop  they  sell  at  a  good  profit 
to-day.  These  figures  are  absolutely  authentic.  The  Cali- 
fornia citrus  production  in  1895  was  less  than  5000  car- 
loads whereas  the  normal  crop  to-day  is  45,000  carloads. 
The  orange  crop  has  increased  900  per  cent.,  while  the 
population  has  increased  50  per  cent,  and  this  indicates 
what  is  an  actual  fact,  namely,  that  the  people  of  the 
United  States  eat  to-day  seven  or  eight  times  as  many 
oranges  in  a  year  as  they  did  in  1895.  What  has  changed 
their  habits,  in  this  regard.^  Xothing  more  nor  less  than 
advertising. 

In  1895  they  not  only  sold  fewer  oranges  per  capita, 
but  they  received  a  smaller  profit  per  box. 

In  1895  orange  growers  were  every  year  afraid  of 
over-production. 

About  that  time  the  California  Fruit  Growlers' 
Exchange  was  formed,  because  the  growers  realized  that 
something  w^ould  have  to  be  done  to  develop  a  future  for 
their  business.  To  say  that  it  began  working  miracles  right 
from  the  start  would  hardly  be  an  exaggeration.  It 
studied  the  science  of  selling,  and  soon  had  the  marketing 
end  of  the  industry  on  a  business  basis.  It  began  put- 
ting agents  in  the  various  market  centres,  and  when  a  car- 


24  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

load  was  ready  for  shipment  it  knew  from  its  agents  where 
to  send  it  to  get  a  good  price.  Fear  of  over-jjroduction 
soon  became  a  thing  of  the  past. 

During  the  first  five  years  of  the  Exchange's  oj^eration 
the  citrus  crop  increased  255  per  cent.^  from  1900  to 
1905  it  increased  71.7  per  cent.,  from  1905  to  1910  it 
increased  10.9  per  cent.,  and  from  1910  to  1914  it  in- 
creased 48.5  per  cent.  Two  hundred  million  dollars  is 
now  invested  in  this  industry'  in  California. 

The  development  of  the  markets  can  be  ex- 
pected to  keep  pace  with  the  growth  in  pro- 
duction, at  least  until  such  a  time  as  the  amount 
of  honey  produced  equals  the  output  of  many 
minor  articles  of  food  not  in  general  demand. 
"WHien  we  consider  the  enormous  development 
of  which  the  beekeeping  industry  is  capable, 
there  is  certainly  no  need  of  being  alarmed 
about  over-doing  it,  while  still  much  less  than 
one  per  cent,  of  the  available  honey  harvest  is 
being  gathered.  To  the  author's  way  of  think- 
ing there  is  no  better  opportunity  for  the  man 
of  limited  means  in  the  whole  agricultural 
field  than  is  offered  by  beekeeping. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  HOXEY  BEE  FAMILY 

With  all  the  multitude  of  species  of  insects, 
man  has  been  able  to  adapt  very  few  to  his  own 
immediate  needs.  Hundreds  of  insects  render 
an  indirect  service,  such  as  the  pollenation  of 
blossoms,  and  a  few  have  been  used  for  food,  as 
John  ate  locusts  in  the  wilderness.  Because  of 
the  social  habit  whereby  thousands  of  bees  live 
together  in  a  single  community  and  lay  up  a 
common  store  of  honey,  man  has  been  able  to 
provide  them  with  a  suitable  home,  in  the  hive, 
and  so  to  manipulate  the  combs  which  they 
build  as  to  greatly  increase  the  amount  of  honey 
stored  and  to  profit  thereby.  By  the  preven- 
tion of  swarming  at  the  time  when  the  honey 
harvest  is  at  its  best,  by  reducing  the  number  of 
non-producing  drones  which  the  colony  is  per- 

25 


26  BEGINNER'S  BI!e  BOOK 

mitted  to  raise  and  by  improving  the  strain  by 
selecting  queens  from  the  most  vigorous  stock, 
it  is  possible  to  secure  several  times  the  amount 
of  surplus  that  could  be  taken  from  bees  in  the 
old-fashioned  box  hive  or  gum,  managed  on  the 
let-alone  plan. 

Other  insects,  such  as  ants,  termites,  etc., 
have  formed  communitites  and  live  from  a  com- 
mon store.  However,  none  of  the  others  are  of 
direct  service  to  man  as  is  the  bee.  For  cen- 
turies their  habits  have  been  studied  and  much 
still  remains  to  be  learned  concerning  them. 

The  Bee  Family. — The  life  of  the  hive 
centers  in  the  queen,  which  is  the  mother  of  the 
colony  and  upon  whose  vigor  the  prosperity  of 
the  hive  depends.  Should  she  die,  and  the  bees 
be  unable  to  replace  her,  the  colony  would  soon 
perish.  While  the  workers  are  also  females, 
the  sexual  organs  are  undeveloped  and  they 
could  not  supply  the  place  of  the  queen  mother. 
In  queenless  colonies  laying  workers  often  ap- 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMILY  27 

pear,  but  since  they  have  never  been  mated, 
their  offspring  are  all  drones  and  the  hfe  of 
the  community  is  not  thereby  prolonged.  A 
prosperous  hive  contains  many  thousands  of 
workers  whose  purpose  in  life  is  the  gathering 
of  the  food  supply,  building  of  the  combs,  pro- 
tection of  the  store,  cleaning  the  hive  and  other 
labor  necessary  to  the  comfort  of  the  inmates. 
The  drones  are  males,  but  do  not  share  in  any 
productive  work  for  the  community.  They 
are  dependent  upon  their  industrious  sisters 
for  their  entire  support  and  are  tolerated, 
apparently,  because  of  necessity  for  the  per- 
petuation of  the  species.  Late  in  fall  when  con- 
ditions no  longer  favor  the  gathering  of  honey, 
and  when  brood  rearing  has  greatly  diminished, 
or  in  seasons  of  scarcity,  they  are  driven  from 
the  hive  to  perish. 

In  common  with  other  insects,  bees  pass 
through  four  stages  in  completing  their  devel- 
opment.    Strangely  enough,  different  periods 


28  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

of  time  are  necessary  for  the  growth  of  the  dif- 
ferent sexes  and  even  of  the  queen  and  worker. 
First  the  eggs  are  laid  by  the  queen  mother, 
who  lays  hundreds  and  even  thousands  daily 
during  the  height  of  the  season.  Worker  eggs 
are  laid  in  the  same  kind  of  cells  in  which  the 
honey  is  stored.  Drone  eggs  are  laid  in  similar 
cells  somewhat  larger  in  size,  while  eggs  which 
are  to  produce  queens  are  laid  in  specially  built 
cells  shaped  like  an  inverted  thimble  and  which 
have  little  depressions  giving  them  something 
of  the  appearance  of  peanuts.  At  times  only 
worker  eggs  will  be  laid  for  days  at  a  time. 
When  the  colony  gets  very  strong,  and  the  hive 
is  getting  crowded,  eggs  will  be  laid  in  drone 
cells  also,  and  queen  cells  may  be  built  in  prep- 
aration for  swarming. 

Three  days  are  required  for  the  eggs  to 
hatch,  all  the  eggs  being  alike  in  this  respect. 
For  the  first  three  days  all  the  larvae  are  ap- 
parently treated  alike,  being  fed  on  royal  jelly. 


THE  KONEY  BEE  FAMILY  29 

a  milky  white  substance  furnished  in  abun- 
dance by  the  nurse  bees.  When  the  eggs  hatch 
the  httle  larvse  are  very  dehcate,  white  in  color, 
and  show  few  external  organs.  By  close  ex- 
amination the  beekeeper  can  see  them  floating 
in  the  royal  jelly  so  freely  supphed.  The 
queen  larvse  are  fed  with  this  rich  food  through- 
out the  entire  larval  period  and  complete  the 
larval  development  in  about  a  half  day  less 
time  than  is  required  for  the  workers.  Any 
worker  egg  may  be  made  to  develop  into  a  queen 
if  the  egg  or  newly  hatched  larva  is  transferred 
to  a  queen  cell  where  it  is  fed  on  the  richer  food 
and  has  the  larger  cell  in  which  to  develop. 
Beekeepers  take  advantage  of  this  fact  to  rear 
queens  from  good  stock  in  large  numbers.  The 
worker  and  drone  larvae  are  only  fed  royal 
jelly  during  the  first  three  days  of  their  growth 
and  then  are  weaned  and  fed  on  coarser  food. 
Six  days  are  required  for  the  development  of 
the  worker  larvae  and  a  few  hours  longer  for 


30  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

the  drones.  During  the  earher  stages  of  their 
development  the  httle  larvae  remain  curled  up 
in  the  bottoms  of  the  cells,  but  when  they  com- 
plete their  growth  they  stretch  out  lengthwise 
in  the  cells  and  spin  very  delicate  cocoons  and 
the  cells  are  sealed  over  with  wax. 

The  bee  now  enters  upon  the  third  stage  of 
its  life,  that  of  the  pupa.  During  this  stage  it 
takes  no  food  and  remains  in  absolute  quiet. 
In  something  less  than  eight  days  the  queens 
will  complete  the  transformation,  only  sixteen 
days  being  required  from  the  time  the  egg  is 
laid  until  the  mature  queen  is  ready  to  leave 
her  royal  cell.  The  workers  require  twelve  days 
for  this  stage  and  drones  fifteen  days.  Twenty- 
one  days  is  the  time  required  for  worker  bees 
to  develop  from  the  egg  and  twenty- four  days 
for  the  drone.  It  will  be  seen  that  it  takes  eight 
more  days  for  the  male  bee  to  develop  than  for 
the  perfect  female,  and  three  days  more  than 
for  the  worker  or  modified  female. 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMH^Y  31 

The  normal  food  of  the  bee  is  honey  and 
pollen,  both  of  which  are  gathered  from  flow- 
ers. Water  is  essential,  especially  dm-ing 
brood  rearing  and  the  bees  seek  it  eagerly  in 
early  spring.  In  time  of  scarcity  bees  will  take 
fruit  juices  or  other  sweets,  but  when  there  is 
plenty  of  nectar  in  the  fields  they  pay  httle  at- 
tention to  anything  else.  At  such  times  even 
honey  may  be  exposed  in  the  open  air  for  days 
without  attracting  the  bees. 

Xectar. — Since  the  bees  are  known  to  be 
very  useful  in  distributing  the  pollen  among 
the  flowers  it  seems  that  nectar  is  secreted  for 
the  purpose  of  attracting  the  bees  and  other 
insects  and  thus  insuring  proper  fertilization 
of  the  bloom.  When  first  gathered  by  the  bees 
it  is  very  thin  and  watery,  but  a  change  of  com- 
position, called  inversion,  takes  place  in  the 
honey  sac  of  the  bee,  in  which  it  is  carried  to  the 
hive.  After  being  placed  in  the  cells  it  is  evap- 
orated and  thickened  and  finally  sealed.     If 


32  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

honey  is  taken  from  the  hive  too  soon  it  is  thin 
and  will  sour.  The  process  of  evaporation  and 
thickening  which  takes  place  in  the  hive  is  called 
ripening.  Usually  honey  that  is  well  sealed  is 
sufficiently  well  ripened  for  use,  but  honey 
from  some  flowers  requires  a  good  deal  of  time 
before  it  will  reach  the  best  condition. 

Pollen,  often  called  bee-bread,  is  used  in 
large  quantities  as  food  for  the  young  bees.  A 
mixture  of  pollen  and  honey  furnishes  food  for 
the  worker  larva  after  they  are  three  days  old. 

Both  queens  and  drones  when  in  the  hive 
are  fed  by  the  workers.  Aside  from  pollen  and 
nectar  the  bees  also  gather  another  substance, 
called  propolis.  This  is  used  as  a  glue  to  close 
up  the  cracks  on  the  approach  of  winter,  to 
fasten  down  the  cover,  or  other  siixiilar  use. 
The  beekeeper  finds  it  difficult  to  remove  the 
propolis  from  his  hands  after  a  few  hours'  work 
in  the  apiary  on  a  warm  day. 

When  the  worker  emerges  from  her  cell  she 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMILY  33 

does  not  go  at  once  to  the  field,  but  remains 
within  the  hive  for  several  days.  At  fii-st  she 
is  as  downy  as  a  little  chick  and  probably  does 
nothing  for  a  day  or  two.  Soon,  however,  she 
begins  her  w^ork  as  a  nurse  to  the  larvse,  which 
is  probably  her  first  duty.  She  shortly  takes 
hold  wherever  a  task  needs  attention,  whether  it 
be  to  feed  the  queen  or  drones,  clean  the  hive, 
build  combs,  guard  the  entrance  to  the  hive,  or 
fanning  to  keep  up  a  circulation  of  air,  or  any 
of  the  many  duties  necessary  to  care  for  such  a 
large  family. 

After  a  few  days  the  young  workers  will 
take  short  flights  outside  the  hive,  thus  becom- 
ing famihar  with  surrounding  conditions.  At 
first  they  fly  back  and  forth  in  front  of  the  hive, 
never  going  more  than  a  few  feet  from  the  en- 
trance. With  several  hundred  workers  taking 
their  first  flights  on  a  warm  day,  there  is  an 
appearance  of  gi^eat  activity  and  the  novice 
may  be  deceived  into  thinking  that  there  is 


34  beginner:s  bee  book 

much  honey  coming  to  the  hive  or  that  strange 
bees  are  robbing  them.  The  distance  of  the 
flight  is  gradually  lengthened  until  the  worker 
becomes  so  familiar  with  the  hive  and  its  sur- 
roundings that  it  is  no  longer  necessary  for 
her  to  make  note  of  her  situation.  She  will  then 
fly  directly  to  the  field  and  return  to  the  exact 
place  where  the  hive  stood,  even  though  it  has 
been  removed  before  she  left.  It  thus  becomes 
necessary  to  use  great  care  in  moving  the  hive 
to  either  make  the  distance  so  gi^eat  that  every- 
thing will  be  strange  and  the  bees  will  make 
note  of  the  change  or  else  move  it  but  a  very 
short  distance  each  day  so  that  they  will  be 
able  to  find  it  after  they  return  to  the  former 
position. 

After  the  worker  is  two  or  three  weeks  old 
she  will  begin  her  trips  to  the  field  in  search  of 
honey  or  pollen  and  will  continue  the  outside 
work  as  long  as  she  lives. 

In  summer  when  the  harvest  is   on,   the 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMILY  35 

worker  bee  lives  but  a  short  time,  probably  not 
much  more  than  six  weeks.  If  the  harvest  is 
over  before  she  emerges  from  her  cell  she  may 
live  for  six  months  and  help  to  begin  the  next 
season's  garnering. 

The  Swarm. — When  the  warm  days  come 
in  spring  the  population  of  the  hive  will  in- 
crease very  rapidly.  Apparently  there  is  no 
settled  rule  that  governs  swarming.  It  is  the 
natural  method  of  increase,  and  as  soon  as  a 
colony  becomes  strong,  preparations  for  a 
division  of  the  household  may  be  made.  In  late 
May  or  early  June,  in  a  favorable  season,  the 
hive  will  be  getting  crowded.  Thousands  of 
workers  will  be  gathering  honey  and  caring  for 
the  multitudes  of  young  bees  that  are  daily 
hatching.  By  this  time  drones  will  be  getting 
numerous  and  an  examination  may  disclose 
from  one  to  a  dozen  or  more  queen  cells.  The 
box  hive  beekeepers  of  our  grandfathers'  day 
would  say  that  the  bees  will  swarm,  when  thev 


36  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

begin  to  lay  out  in  large  clusters  outside  the 
hive.  Practical  beekeepers  of  the  present  day 
furnish  the  bees  with  sufficient  room  in  which 
to  work,  and  thus  guard  against  such  loafing. 
Under  such  conditions  there  was  nothing  for 
the  bees  to  do  but  to  swarm,  since  there  was  not 
room  for  them  all  in  the  hive,  and,  with  honey 
abundant  in  the  fields,  the  instinct  to  gather  it 
was  too  strong  to  permit  them  to  spend  a  sum- 
mer in  idleness. 

When  the  beekeeper  finds  a  number  of 
queen  cells  in  the  hive  at  this  season  of  the  year 
he  knows  that  the  bees  are  preparing  to  swarm 
and  makes  plans  accordingly.  The  bees  will 
build  queen  cells  also,  when  the  queen  is  grow- 
ing old  and  beginning  to  fail.  This  is  done  to 
insure  a  young  queen  to  replace  the  feeble 
mother  and  is  called  "  supercedure."  When 
the  old  queen  is  replaced  during  the  honey  flow 
the  bees  are  very  likely  to  swarm  anyway,  even 
though  there  is  an  abundance  of  room  in  the 
hive. 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMILY  37 

The  swarm  may  issue  at  any  time  after  the 
queen  cells  are  sealed,  though  it  often  delays 
until  the  young  queens  are  ready  to  emerge. 
Everything  will  apparently  be  going  on  as 
usual,  when,  suddenly,  the  bees  begin  to  pour 
out  of  the  hive  hke  mad.  They  fairly  tumble 
over  each  other  in  their  haste  to  reach  the  open 
air,  where  they  begin  circhng  about  with  a  loud 
buzzing.  The  queen  may  be  among  the  first  to 
leave  the  hive  or  she  may  be  near  the  last. 
While  her  going  is  necessary,  and  unless  she 
does  go  the  bees  soon  return  to  the  hive,  there  is 
no  more  attention  paid  to  her  going,  as  far  as 
can  be  seen,  than  to  that  of  any  other  bee. 
After  circling  about  for  a  short  time  the  swarm 
usually  clusters  on  a  limb  of  a  tree,  or  in  some 
other  convenient  place.  The  place  which  proves 
most  convenient  for  the  bees  is  often  most  in- 
convenient for  the  beekeeper  when  there  are 
large  trees  about. 

The  time  was  when  there  was  a  great  beat- 


38  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

ing  of  pans  and  other  noise-making  implements 
when  the  bees  swarmed.  The  idea  was  that  the 
noise  would  cause  the  bees  to  cluster.  Bee- 
keepers know  now  that  ninety-nine  times  out 
of  one  hundred  they  will  cluster  anyway  with- 
out so  much  fuss,  and  the  hundi-edth  time  they 
will  leave  wdthout  ceremony  in  spite  of  the 
noise.  Clustering  is  a  normal  part  of  the 
swarming  and  is  as  much  to  be  expected  as  any 
other  natural  impulse. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  hive  the  swarm  by 
placing  a  hive  in  position  and  shaking  the  bees 
in  front  of  it.  They  will  usually  go  in  without 
difficulty.  If  a  small  cluster  remains  on  the 
outside,  care  should  be  used  to  see  that  the 
queen  is  not  left  behind,  for  otherwise  the  bees 
^Wll  not  stay  long  inside  the  new  home. 

The  first  swarm  to  issue  is  called  the  prime 
swarm  and  there  is  no  way  to  foretell  its  ap- 
pearance without  an  examination  of  the  in- 
terior of  the  hive.     Since  the  colonv  is  divided 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMH^Y  39 

for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  new  establish- 
ment, the  bees  will  fill  their  sacs  with  honey  so 
that  they  are  prepared  to  begin  building  combs 
at  once.  The  swarm  may  remain  clustered  for 
several  hom-s,  or  even  for  a  day  or  two,  in  rare 
cases.  The  beekeeper  should  be  prepared  to 
hive  his  swarm  at  once  to  prevent  them  from 
absconding,  or  leaving  for  parts  unknown.  It 
is  evident  that  scouts  are  out  in  search  of  a  new 
home.  It  often  happens  that  bees  will  be  seen 
about  a  suitable  opening  for  several  days,  when 
suddenly  a  swarm  will  appear  and  take  pos- 
session. Where  swarms  remain  clustered  for 
long  periods,  it  is  apparent  that  the  scouts  have 
not  yet  found  a  suitable  habitation. 

The  parent  queen  will  leave  the  hive  with 
the  new  swarm,  which  also  attracts  most  of  the 
field  bees.  The  first  queen  to  emerge  from  the 
cell  after  the  swarm  has  left  will  usually  seek 
for  other  queen  cells  and  at  once  kill  her  rivals, 
unless  she  is  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the 


40  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

bees.  It  often  happens,  however,  that  the  bees 
have  the  swarming  fever  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  are  not  satisfied  with  casting  a  prime 
swarm  but  will  at  once  prepare  for  an  after- 
swarm.  In  this  case  the  queen  is  not  permitted 
to  injure  the  others  still  in  the  cells,  but  after 
a  day  or  two  a  second  swarm  with  this  new 
queen  will  emerge.  It  often  happens  that  sev- 
eral ^4rgin  queens  will  emerge  and  go  with  an 
after-swarm.  Sometimes  several  after-swarms 
issue  at  brief  intervals  until  the  parent  colony 
is  reduced  to  a  point  where  it  is  almost 
worthless. 

Excessive  swarming  results  disastrously  to 
the  dreams  of  a  honey  crop  on  the  part  of  the 
beekeeper.  AATiere  natural  swarming  is  per- 
mitted, steps  should  be  taken  to  see  that  not 
more  than  one  swarm  is  permitted  to  issue.  The 
usual  method  is  to  place  the  new  swarm  on  the 
old  stand  and  to  move  the  old  hive  some  dis- 
tance away.     In  this  way  the  returning  field 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMILY  41 

bees*  will  go  with  the  new  swarm  and  the  old 
stock  will  be  so  badly  reduced  that  excess  queen 
cells  will  be  destroyed,  and  the  bees  will  there- 
after attend  to  business.  It  is  well,  also,  to 
open  the  hive  and  remove  all  queen  cells  but 
one,  or  if  a  virgin  queen  has  already  issued  and 
is  present  in  the  hive  to  remove  all  remaining 
queen  cells. 

The  Matixg  Flight. — When  the  young 
queen  has  been  out  of  her  cell  from  four  to  eight 
days  she  takes  her  mating  flight.  In  the  mean- 
time she  takes  short  flights  outside  the  hive, 
apparently  for  the  purpose  of  marking  the  lo- 
cation. When  time  for  mating  arrives  she 
circles  high  in  the  air,  pursued  by  drones  that 
chance  to  be  Hying  near  at  hand.  The  mating 
always  takes  place  in  the  air,  the  act  being  fatal 
to  the  drone.  One  mating  is  sufficient  for  hfe, 
under  normal  conditions,  and  the  queen  returns 
to  the  hive  to  remain  until  such  time  as  she  shall 
leave  with  a  swarm.     If  perchance  the  queen 


42  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

fails  to  become  fertilized  at  the  proper  time,  she 
disappears  or  becomes  a  drone  layer.  It  has 
been  proved  beyond  question  that  an  unmated 
queen  can  produce  male  offspring.  In  fact, 
this  is  rather  a  common  occurrence  in  the 
apiary.  An  mimated  queen  is  worthless,  how- 
ever, since  all  her  offspring  will  be  drones,  and 
unless  she  is  replaced  the  colony  will  soon  die. 
With  a  drone-laying  queen,  conditions  in  the 
hive  are  very  similar  to  when  there  are  fertile 
workers,  as  already  mentioned.  Since  the  drone 
is  hatched  from  an  unfertilized  egg,  he  has  no 
father.  This  is  the  case  with  several  other  in- 
sects, as  is  well  known  to  naturalists. 

Activities  of  the  New  Colony. — As 
soon  as  the  swarm  is  settled  in  the  new  quarters 
the  bees  will  form  a  compact  cluster  for  the 
purpose  of  secreting  wax  and  building  combs. 
The  wax  scales  are  exuded  from  between  the 
segments  of  the  abdomen.  A  high  temperature 
seems  to  be  necessary  to  enable  the  bees  to  pro- 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMILY  43 

duce  the  wax  and  several  pounds  of  honey  are 
digested  for  eacli  pound  of  wax  secreted. 
Within  a  f ew^  hours  the  wax  scales  will  be  plen- 
tiful and  the  bees  will  begin  building  the  new 
combs.  Since  the  queen  will  need  worker  cells 
for  immediate  use  the  first  cells  built  will  be 
all  of  the  worker  size.  If  the  queen  is  prolific 
the  bees  may  build  the  hive  nearly  full  of 
worker  cells,  but  ordinarily  it  w^ill  not  be  long 
until  the  bees  have  more  comb  built  than  she 
can  occupy,  so  the  bees  begin  to  build  drone 
cells,  which  are  larger  and  apparently  easier 
to  construct.  It  often  happens  that  a  new 
swarm  which  is  allowed  to  build  the  combs  with- 
out interference  will  construct  from  one  fourth 
to  three-fourths  of  the  combs  of  drone  cells. 
Too  much  drone  comb  insures  that  the  follow- 
ing season  large  numbers  of  drones  w^ill  be 
reared  and  that  the  colony  can  never  be  very 
profitable.  The  drones  not  only  require  more 
food,  because  of  their  larger  size,  but  they  add 


44  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

nothing  to  the  product  of  the  hive  and  consume 
large  quantities  of  stores  after  they  have 
reached  maturity.  This  condition  is  easily  pre- 
vented by  filling  the  frames  with  full  sheets  of 
foundation.  Foundation  is  pure  beeswax 
rolled  very  thin  and  impressed  with  the  exact 
size  and  shape  of  worker  combs.  The  bees  are 
quick  to  avail  themselves  of  this  big  start 
toward  building  their  combs  and  a  hive  full  of 
worker  combs  is  the  result. 

If  the  swarm  finds  a  home  in  a  hollow  tree 
or  other  natural  cavity  or  is  hived  in  a  box,  the 
combs  will  be  curved  and  built  in  an  irregular 
fashion,  that  facilitates  the  passing  from  one 
part  of  the  brood  nest  to  another.  The  opera- 
tions of  the  beekeeper  necessitate  straight 
combs  that  can  be  examined  without  difficulty, 
so  frames  are  placed  in  the  hives  and  founda- 
tion placed  in  them  as  above  mentioned,  to  in- 
sure straight  and  even  combs,  as  well  as  cells 
of  the  desired  size. 


THE  HONEY  BEE  FAMH^Y  45 

The  combs  serve  the  bees  for  several  pur- 
poses. First  the  cells  serve  to  provide  snug 
receptacles  for  the  young.  They  also  serve  as 
places  to  store  the  reserve  food  supply  of  honey 
and  pollen  and  resting  places  for  the  bees. 

The  combs  when  first  built  are  white,  gradu- 
ally growing  darker  with  use  until  some  old 
combs  are  almost  black.  However,  there  is  a 
difference  in  color  of  the  wax  depending  upon 
the  source  of  the  honey  which  the  bees  were 
gathering  at  the  time.  In  some  warm  climates 
the  wax  is  quite  dark,  and  even  in  our  northern 
states  where  white  wax  is  the  rule,  some  is  yel- 
low even  at  first. 


CHAPTER  IV 

XECESSARY  EQUIPMENT 

The  equipment  which  the  beginner  should 
buy  will  depend  upon  the  extent  to  which  he 
wishes  to  engage  in  honey  production,  and 
whether  he  intends  to  produce  comb  or  ex- 
tracted honey.  If  the  intention  is  to  engage 
in  beekeeping  on  a  commercial  scale  as  soon  as 
possible,  a  very  careful  study  of  the  local  flora 
and  of  honey-producing  systems  should  be 
made  before  starting,  in  order  to  avoid  the  pur- 
chase of  a  large  amount  of  equipment  which 
will  later  be  discarded. 

If  the  intention  is  to  take  up  beekeeping 
merely  as  a  diversion  and  only  to  keep  a  few 
colonies,  extracted  honey  will  probably  be 
more  satisfactory  in  nine  cases  in  every  ten. 
Equipment  recommended  in  this  chapter  will 
be  more  especially  for  the  novice  who  wishes  to 

46 


NECESSARY  EQUIPMENT  47 

keep  but  a  few  bees.  The  advice  will  be  sound, 
however,  for  the  man  or  woman  who  wishes  to 
develop  as  rapidly  as  possible  into  a  commercial 
business.     "  Productive  Beekeeping,"  by  the 


Fig.   1. — A  good  smoker. 

author  of  this  book,  is  designed  especially  for 
commercial  beekeepers,  and  considers  many 
problems  not  possible  in  a  book  of  this  size. 

Importance  of  a  Good  Smoker. — The 
first  implement  that  the  novice  should  buy  is  a 
good  smoker  (Fig.  1).  If  he  has  black  or 
mixed  bees,  it  will  be  next  to  impossible  to  do 


48  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

an}i;hing  with  them  without  the  use  of  smoke. 
To  appreciate  the  value  of  smoke  in  bee  con- 
trol it  must  be  remembered  that  the  beehive 
contains  a  highly  organized  community.  A^^lile 
apparently  there  is  no  overlord  who  directs  the 
work,  each  individual  bee  fills  a  place  in  per- 
forming the  duties  of  the  hive.  As  mentioned 
in  the  previous  chapter,  some  are  nurses,  some 
are  foragers,  some  are  guards,  etc.  Probably 
every  bee  that  hves  out  her  normal  life  cycle 
performs  all  of  these  duties  at  some  period  of 
her  existence.  The  only  division  of  labor 
seems  to  be  one  of  age.  The  young  bees  feed 
the  young,  secrete  wax,  etc.,  while  the  older 
ones  go  to  the  fields  for  nectar,  pollen,  etc. 
Aside  from  this  general  division  of  labor  be- 
tween young  and  older  workers,  the  bees  seem 
to  take  hold  wherever  inclination  leads,  or 
where  the  need  is  most  pressing.  Since  the 
prime  object  of  the  labor  of  the  community  is 
the  accumulation  of  a  store  of  honey,  guards 


NECESSARY  EQUIPMENT  49 

are  very  important  to  the  safety  of  the  hive. 
On  the  approach  of  strange  bees  or  strange 
men,  these  guards  are  Hkely  to  use  their  stings 
vigorously  to  prevent  the  looting  of  their 
treasure. 

By  the  use  of  smoke,  the  beekeeper  can 
quickly  disorganize  the  whole  community  and 
tear  the  hive  to  pieces  without  resistance.  If 
the  bees  are  blacks,  much  more  smoke  will  be 
necessary  than  with  gentle  Italians  or  Cau- 
casians. By  placing  the  nozzle  of  the  smoker 
against  the  front  of  the  hive  and  blowing  a  few 
puffs  of  smoke  into  the  entrance,  and  then  re- 
moving the  cover  and  blowing  more  over  the 
tops  of  the  frames,  even  cross  bees  are  likely  to 
be  quickly  quieted  and  to  lose  all  thought  of 
defence.  Care  should  be  used  not  to  use  any 
more  smoke  than  is  necessary,  a  very  common 
fault  with  beginners.  If  the  bees  are  gentle 
it  will  not  be  necessary  to  use  smoke  at  the  en- 
trance, but  only  a  little  across  the  top  of  the 


50  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

frames  when  the  cover  is  removed.  During  the 
honey  flow  it  is  often  possible  to  manipulate  the 
hives  of  gentle  strains  without  using  any 
smoke. 

When  the  smoke  is  blown  into  the  hive  the 
bees  rush  about  confusedly  for  a  moment,  and 
then  seek  the  open  cells  of  honey.  Their  honey- 
sacs  are  filled  as  though  they  were  about  to 
swarm.  When  a  worker  bee  is  carrying  a  load 
of  honey  she  seldom  shows  any  desire  to  sting. 
This  is  why  swarming  bees  are  usually  gentle. 
When  the  swarm  is  about  to  depart  each  bee 
will  take  a  load,  which  will  furnish  a  supply  of 
available  food  for  several  days  after  the  new 
home  is  reached. 

Protection  from  Stings. — 'WTiile  ex- 
perienced beekeepers  often  work  among  the 
bees  without  protection,  especially  during  a 
honey  flow,  it  is  very  unwise  for  the  novice  to 
do  so.  The  experienced  beekeeper  is  so  famil- 
iar with  the  habits  of  the  bees  that  he  is  not 


NECESSARY  EQUIPMENT  51 

likely  to  disturb  them  under  conditions  that  will 
arouse  serious  resentment.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  novice  may  be  greatly  surprised  by  a  furore 
of  excitement  in  the  hive  and  numerous  stings, 
even  though  he  approaches  the  hive  exactly  as 
he  may  have  done  on  other  occasions  without 
seeming  to  attract  much  notice  from  the  bees. 
The  inmates  of  the  hive  are  very  responsive  to 
changes  in  weather  or  other  conditions,  and 
their  temper  varies  accordingly.  During  a 
bright  day  when  there  is  a  good  honey  flow  they 
may  be  very  gentle,  while  on  a  chill  or  cloudy 
day  when  there  is  no  honey  coming  from  the 
fields,  they  may  be  very  cross  and  easily 
aroused. 

A  veil  that  will  prevent  the  bees  from  reach- 
ing the  head  is  easily  made  at  home,  or  one  can 
be  bought  from  any  dealer  in  bee  supplies. 
'\Miile  mosquito  bar  sewed  to  the  rim  of  a  straw 
hat  will  serve  the  purpose,  it  obstructs  the 
vision  and  is  not  nearly  as  good  as  one  made  of 


52  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

wire  screen,  sewed  to  the  rim  of  a  felt  hat.  An 
apron  sewed  to  the  bottom  with  a  draw  string 
in  it,  prevents  the  bees  from  crawhng  under. 

Some  kind  of  gloves  should  also  be  worn  to 
protect  the  hands.  Any  protection  that  will 
prevent  the  bees  from  reaching  the  exposed 
parts  of  the  body,  while  permitting  freedom  of 
motion  and  unobstructed  sight  will  answer  the 
purpose  very  well. 


q 


Fig.  2. — The  value  of  the  hive  tool  is  far  above  its  cost. 

The  value  of  a  hive  tool  cannot  be  meas- 
ured by  its  cost.  AMiile  many  persons  get 
along  with  a  small  chisel  or  screw  driver,  the 
cost  of  a  hive  tool  is  so  slight  and  it  can  be  put 
to  so  many  uses  that  one  cannot  afford  to  be 
without  it,  even  though  he  has  but  two  or  three 
colonies  of  bees  (Fig.  2) .  The  hive  tool  is  used 
to  loosen  the  cover,  pry  up  the  frames,  scrape 
off  the  burr  combs  and  bits  of  wax  and  propolis 


NECESSARY  EQUIPMENT  53 

attached  to  unnecessary  and  inconvenient 
places,  and  for  many  similar  pm'poses.  If  one 
has  a  small  box  or  can  in  which  to  drop  all  stray 
bits  of  wax  he  will  keep  his  frames  in  enough 
better  condition  to  make  his  work  much  easier 
and  pleasanter,  while  at  the  same  time  saving 
enough  wax  that  would  otherwise  go  to  waste 
to  pay  for  the  tool  many  times  over. 

Bee-Escapes  Should  Also  be  Ixcluded 
IX  E\TEN  A  SMr\XL  OuTFiT. — It  is  SO  casy  to 
remove  surplus  honey  from  the  hive  by  the  use 
of  bee-escapes  that  they  are  a  practical  neces- 
sity. These  are  of  different  kinds,  but  the 
principle  is  the  same.  The  bees  are  able  to  go 
down  but  cannot  return.  By  placing  a  honey- 
board  containing  an  escape  under  a  super  the 
bees  are  all  down  in  the  hive  below  within  a  few 
hours,  and  the  super  can  be  hfted  off  and  the 
honey  removed  without  any  annoyance  of  fight- 
ing bees  (Fig.  3).  If  the  super  is  taken  off 
without  using  an  escape  it  will  be  full  of  bees 


54 


BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 


which  must  be  driven  out.  This  takes  time,  is 
unpleasant  and  also  results  in  more  or  less 
damage  to  the  honey,  as  the  bees  will  gnaw  the 
cappings  when  smoke  is  used  to  drive  them  out. 
Escapes  are  inexpensive,  and  if  one  has  but 


Fig.  3. — It  is  easy  to  remove  honey  from  the  hive  by  placing  a 
bee-escape  under  the  super. 

a  few  colonies  of  bees,  but  one  or  two  will  be 
necessary  as  the  honey  can  be  removed  from 
one  hive  at  a  time.  They  can  be  bought  singly 
at  about  fifty  cents  each,  board  and  all.  In 
quantities  they  can  be  had  for  still  less. 

Useless  Equipment. — The  author,  in  com- 
mon with  most  other  beekeepers,  has  invested 


NECESSARY  EQUIPMENT  55 

many  dollars  in  equipment  which  is  never  used. 
While  there  are  other  articles  which  can  be 
convenient^  used,  and  which  become  necessary 
in  handling  a  large  number  of  hives,  the  above 
meagre  list  includes  all  the  tools  actually  neces- 
sary to  care  for  three  or  four  hives  of  bees  run 
for  comb  honey.  Hives  and  hive  parts  will  be 
considered  in  the  next  chapter,  but  even  with 
hives,  simplicity  and  economy  work  for  effi- 
ciency in  honey  production. 

Nearly  every  supply  catalogue  lists  swarm 
catchers,  and  they  are  usually  about  the  first 
thing  purchased  by  the  beginner,  yet  after  vis- 
iting hundreds  of  apiaries  the  author  cannot 
recall  one  where  a  swarm  catcher  such  as  is  de- 
scribed in  the  supply  catalogues  is  used  for 
taking  swarms. 

Queen  and  drone  traps  are  not  useless,  but 
they  are  of  little  value  and  are  very  seldom  used 
by  an  efficient  beekeeper.  It  is  far  easier  and 
cheaper  to  prevent  the  raising  of  too  many 


56  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

drones  in  the  first  place,  which  is  easily  done  by 
the  use  of  full  sheets  of  foundation  in  the 
brood-frames,  as  explained  later  on.  Numer- 
ous articles  of  this  kind  appear  from  time  to 
time  only  to  be  discarded  and  their  manufac- 
tm^e  discontinued  for  lack  of  demand.  The 
tendency  of  the  supply  dealers  of  late  is  to 
eliminate  useless  equipment  from  their  cata- 
logues, so  that  the  novice  is  not  tempted  by 
things  of  this  kind  as  much  as  formerly. 

If  a  number  of  colonies  are  kept,  a  sec- 
tion press  for  folding  the  sections  and  a  founda- 
tion fastener  will  be  necessary,  as  too  much 
time  will  be  required  in  preparing  the  comb 
honey  supers  without  them.  Since  there  are 
several  different  kinds  described  in  every  cata- 
logue of  supplies,  most  all  of  which  are  good, 
it  is  not  necessary  for  the  author  to  state  his 
personal  preference  here.  To  do  so  might  lead 
the  reader  to  buy  the  special  kind,  when  an- 
other might  suit  him  better  after  giving  both 
a  trial. 


NECESSARY  EQUIPMENT  57 

Special  Equipment  for  Extracted 
Honey. — For  the  production  of  extracted 
honey,  an  extractor,  of  course,  is  necessary.  A 
small  two-frame  hand  extractor  will  be  suf- 
ficient for  the  small  apiary.  A  commercial 
apiary  will  need  at  least  a  f  om^-f  rame  machine, 
and  many  of  them  use  eight-frame  or  larger 
machines. 

To  extract  the  honey  the  beekeeper  takes 
the  frames  of  honey  from  the  bees  and  carefully 
cuts  the  cappings  from  both  sides  of  the  comb 
with  a  warm  knife.  The  frames  are  then 
placed  in  the  baskets  of  the  extractor  and 
turned  very  rapidly  (Fig.  4).  The  motion  of 
the  baskets  whirling  inside  the  big  can  throws 
the  honey  out  of.  the  combs  and  against  the  side 
of  the  can.  It  is  then  drawn  off  through  a 
faucet  in  the  bottom  of  the  extractor.  Ex- 
tracted honey  differs  from  strained  honey  in 
thus  being  thrown  out  by  centrifugal  force, 
instead  of  being  strained  through  a  cloth  after 


58  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

the  combs  have  been  broken  up.  When  the 
honey  is  extracted  the  combs  are  returned,  un- 
damaged, to  the  bees  to  be  filled  again,  while 
with  strained  honey  the  combs  are  destroyed, 


Fig.  4. — Honey  is  extracted  by  placing  the  combs  in  the  baskets 
and  revolving  them  rapidl3^ 

and  more  or  less  foreign  material  is  mixed  with 
the  honey. 

Cost  of  Starting. — The  price  of  bees 
varies  in  different  localities.  In  general  it  is 
safe  to  presume  that  a  full  colony  of  bees  can 


NECESSARY  EQUIPMENT  59 

be  bought  for  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  where  there 
are  any  for  sale.  Often  if  one  can  find  a  bee- 
keeper who  is  offering  bees  for  sale,  he  will  ask 
not  more  than  half  that  price,  unless  he  has  pure 
stock.  Three  hives  are  included,  as  but  little 
more  time  will  be  necessary  to  care  for  three 
colonies  than  for  less. 

For  Comb   Honey 
Two  pounds  surplus  foundation. 
Four  pounds  medium  brood  foundation. 
Three  hives  with  one  super  each,  nailed  and  painted. 
Three  extra  supers  complete. 
Smoker. 
Hive  tool. 
Veil. 
Two  honey  boards  with  escapes. 

For  Extracted  Honey 

Three  two-story  hives. 

Three  extra  supers,  full  depth. 

Eleven  and  a  half  pounds  medium  brood  foundation. 

Smoker. 

Hive  tool. 

Veil. 

Extractor. 

Uncapping  knife. 


60  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

If  but  one  colony  of  bees  is  purchased  the 
extra  hives  will  probably  be  sufficient  for  the 
natural  increase  the  first  year  at  least. 

The  man  who  expects  to  go  into  honey  pro- 
duction extensively  must  expect  to  invest  about 
ten  to  twenty  dollars  per  colony  in  hives,  bees, 
equipment,  etc.  Thus  five  hundred  colonies  of 
bees  will  represent  a  working  capital  of  five  to 
ten  thousand  dollars.  In  addition  to  the  hives 
and  equipment  necessary  for  a  few  colonies,  the 
large  producer  will  need  honey  houses,  cellars 
or  wintering  cases,  and  a  team  or  automobile 
for  getting  his  product  to  market  and  going  to 
and  from  his  various  apiaries. 


CHAPTER  V 

HIVES   AXD    HI^^    PARTS 

Ix  their  wild  state  bees  lived  in  hollow  trees 
or  in  cavities  in  the  rocks.  Instead  of  being 
straight,  their  combs  were  often  built  with  a 
curve  suited  to  the  particular  cavity  in  which 
they  were  built.  Since  the  convenience  of  the 
bees  in  passing  from  one  part  of  their  hive  to 
another  was  the  only  thing  to  be  considered,  the 
combs  were  built  in  a  natural  manner.  When 
man  first  undertook  to  profit  from  the  labor 
of  the  bees  by  supplying  them  with  suitable 
shelter,  he  was  content  to  furnish  them  with  a 
hollow  log,  a  straw  skep,  or  a  rude  box  and 
permit  them  to  build  their  combs  in  their  own 
way.  Such  honey  as  could  be  secured  was 
taken  from  them  by  cutting  out  a  part  of  the 
combs  from  the  main  cavity  or  by  kilhng  the 
bees  and  taking  all  their  store.     After  a  time 

61 


62  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

they  were  supplied  with  boxes  with  holes  in 
the  top  and  another  box  was  set  on  top  of  the 
other.  If  the  colony  became  strong  and  the 
lower  box  became  crowded  they  would  some- 
times fill  the  upper  one  also,  and  that  would 
then  be  removed  with  little  injury  to  the  bees, 
since  they  would  usually  have  sufficient  stores 
below  to  keep  them  through  the  winter. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  beekeeping  could  never 
develop  into  a  profitable  enterprise  under  such 
conditions.  There  are  men  still  living  who  re- 
member the  time  when  it  was  thought  that  there 
was  no  better  way  in  which  to  keep  bees.  When 
Langstroth  invented  the  movable  frame  hive, 
it  resulted  in  the  revolution  of  honey  produc- 
tion and  the  development  of  an  industry,  which 
while  yet  in  its  infancy,  adds  millions  to  the 
wealth  of  the  commonwealth,  and  from  which 
many  people  derive  their  livelihood. 

Mr.  Langstroth's  invention  provided  a  sep- 
arate frame  for  each  comb   (Fig.  5)   and  led 


HIVES  AND  HR'E  PARTS 


63 


the  bees  to  build  straight,  instead  of  curved 
combs.  This  enables  the  beekeeper  to  reach 
any  corner  of  the  hive  at  any  time  desired  and 
to  remove  combs  which  are  full  of  honey  and 
to  replace  them  with  empty  ones,  or  if  the  col- 


FiG.  5. — The  Langstroth  frame. 

ony  needs  feed  to  give  them  full  combs  in  place 
of  the  empty  ones.  Instead  of  a  matter  of  guess 
it  now  becomes  one  of  the  most  easily  directed 
agricultural  pursuits,  for  with  a  suitable  sea- 
son, the  beekeeper  can  so  manipulate  his  col- 
onies as  to  obtain  the  maximum  amount  of 
honey.  It  is  now  possible  to  examine  the  brood 
nest  at  anv  time  and  ascertain  whether  or  not 


64  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

disease  be  present,  whether  the  queen  is  prohfic, 
or  faihng,  or  whether  the  bees  are  building 
queen  cells  in  preparation  for  swarming. 

Kinds  of  Hives. — There  are  still  several 
kinds  of  hives  in  the  market,  although  not 
nearly  as  many  as  there  were  a  few  years  ago. 
The  supply  dealers  are  finding  it  gi-eatly  to 
their  advantage  to  standardize  their  goods  and 
are  making  a  conscientious  effort  to  offer  their 
customers  only  such  as  will  give  satisfactory 
results.  There  are  still  a  few  small  hives  of- 
fered for  comb  honey  which  should  not  be 
manufactured,  and  which  in  the  writer's  opin- 
ion will  not  find  a  market  much  longer.  In 
order  to  give  the  best  results  the  brood  cham- 
ber of  any  hive  must  be  large  enough  to  give  a 
prolific  queen  plenty  of  room  to  lay,  for  it  is 
only  the  strong  colonies  that  pile  up  big  crops 
of  honey.  Unless  there  is  plenty  of  room  for 
the  queen  to  lay  to  the  limit  of  her  capacity, 
the  colony  can  never  store  as  much  honey  as  it 
would  under  more  favorable  conditions. 


HIVES  AND  HIVE  PARTS  65 

The  author  always  recoimnends  the  ten- 
frame  Langstroth  or  dove-tailed  hive  for  both 
comb  and  extracted  honey.  This  hive  is  pre- 
ferred for  the  reason  that  it  is  in  more  general 
use,  and  has  found  favor  with  more  people  than 
any  other  hive.  If  the  beekeeper  proposes  to 
produce  only  extracted  honey,  the  Dadant  hive 
with  its  deeper  frame  has  some  advantages 
which  it  w^ll  pay  to  consider  w^ell  before  making 
a  final  decision.  The  beginner  w^ho  expects  to 
keep  only  a  few  colonies  for  pleasure  will  find 
the  ten-frame  dove-tailed  hive  best  for  his  pur- 
pose, for  surplus  stock  can  be  sold  in  these  hives 
more  readily,  and  the  same  hivebody  can  be 
adapted  to  the  production  of  either  comb  or 
extracted  honey  by  simply  a  change  of  supers. 

Parts  of  Hiates. — Whether  one  intends  to 
produce  comb  or  extracted  honey  the  brood 
chamber  of  the  hive  will  be  the  same,  as  will  the 
top  and  bottom.  The  super,  which  is  the  store 
room  for  the  surplus  honey,  is  very  different, 
however. 

5 


66 


BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 


The  empty  hivebody  is  like  a  box  with 
neither  top  nor  bottom  ( Fig.  6 ) .  Inside  this 
hivebody  the  frames  hang.  The  bees  build  a 
comb  in  each  frame.    Fig.  5  shows  the  empty 


Fig.  6. — The  hivebody  is  Hke  an     Fig.  7. — Hivebody  with  frames  in 
empty  box.  place. 

frame.  The  beginner  is  often  confused  by  the 
different  kinds  of  frames  offered  in  the  cata- 
logue. Ploffman  frames  are  the  same  size  as 
the  regular  Langstroth  frame,  but  they  are  so 
constructed  that  they  are  more  nearly  self- 
spacing.  Fig.  7  shows  a  hivebody  with  frames 
in  place.    In  late  fall  when  no  more  honey  will 


HIVES  AND  HIVE  PARTS 


67 


come  in,  there  is  no  need  of  supers,  so  with  the 
addition  of  the  top  and  bottom  the  hive  will 
be  complete  as  used  at  that  season. 

CoMB-HoxEY    Super. — Many    beginners 
will  prefer  to  produce  comb  honey,  especially 


Fig.  8. — Hive  for  production  of  honey  in  sections,  or  comb  honey. 

if  they  have  only  a  few  bees.  At  Fig.  8  will  be 
seen  a  hive  with  comb-honey  super  in  place  and 
a  second  super  showing  parts  beside  it.  Comb 
honey  is  marketed  in  the  small  sections  which 
are  designed  to  hold  one  pound.  When  filled 
entirely  and  well  finished  they  will  weigh  six- 
teen ounces,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  sec- 


68 


BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 


tions  marketed  fall  somewhat  short  of  the  full 
weight.  A  comb-honey  super  for  a  ten-frame 
hive  holds  twenty-eight  of  these  one-pound  sec- 
tions.    In  the  figure  there  is  a  section  holder 


■-r=-9^i^--^-3j:— 

TlTlf^ 

ir^^H 

I 

■V 

Fig.  9. — Hive  for  producing  extracted  honey. 

with  four  sections  laying  across  the  top.  There 
is  also  a  separator  lying  beside  it.  The  sep- 
arator is  a  thin  sheet  of  wood  which  is  placed 
between  the  rows  of  sections  to  prevent  the  bees 
from  building  the  combs  too  thick  or  uneven. 
By  placing  thin  sheets  of  starter,  or  foundation 
in  these  sections  as  described  elsewhere,  the  bees 


HIVES  AND  HIVE  PARTS  69 

are  induced  to  build  nice  straight  combs  such  as 
we  see  in  the  markets. 

ExTRACTED-HoxEY  SuPER.  —  Extractcd- 
honey  supers  are  of  two  kinds,  the  deep  and 
the  shallow.  The  author  prefers  the  deep  super 
because  it  is  the  same  size  as  the  hivebody,  and 
serves  the  same  purpose  in  an  emergency.  If 
the  hives  and  supers  are  of  the  same  size,  it 
saves  much  needless  duplication  which  becomes 
necessary  if  different  sizes  are  used.  Fig.  9 
shows  an  extracted  honey  hive  together  with 
empty  super  by  its  side.  It  is  in  fact  a  two- 
story  hive. 

The  shallow  super  is  very  similar  excepting 
that  the  frames  are  not  so  deep  and  tlie  super 
correspondingly  smaller. 


CHAPTER  VI 

pasture  for  bees 

Some  of  the  Plants  That  Make  the 
Best  Hoxey  in  Various  Sections. — Since 
the  invention  of  the  movable-frame  hive  has 
made  commercial  honey  production  possible,  it 
has  been  the  dream  of  the  beekeeping  specialist 
to  grow  special  honey-producing  plants  in  suf- 
ficient quantity  to  insure  a  honey  crop.  At  one 
time  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College  sowed 
a  field  to  Rocky  Mountain  bee  plant  to  find  out 
its  value  for  the  honey  producer,  but  as  yet  no 
plant  has  been  found  that  will  produce  nectar 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  justify  its  cultivation 
for  honey  alone. 

There  are,  however,  a  number  of  forage 
plants  that  are  valuable  both  as  sources  of  nec- 
tar and  for  hay  or  pasture,  and  beekeepers  have 
sometimes  found  it  profitable  to  pay  part  of  the 


PASTURE  FOR  BEES  71 

cost  of  seed  sown  by  neighboring  farmers  in 
order  that  they  might  profit  by  the  honey. 
Alsike  and  white  or  Dutch  clover  are  especially 
valuable  for  this  double  purpose.  When  clover 
is  gi'own  for  seed  an  arrangement  satisfactory 
to  both  farmer  and  beekeeper  may  be  made,  as 
the  presence  of  large  numbers  of  bees  greatly 
facilitates  pollination  of  the  blossoms,  with  the 
result  that  a  larger  crop  of  clover  seed  will  be 
secured. 

Sweet  clover  has  long  been  a  favorite  with 
beekeepers,  because  of  its  abundant  nectar 
secretion.  For  many  years  it  was  regarded  as 
a  weed,  and  its  introduction  was  regarded  with 
disfavor  by  farmers.  In  one  locality  of  my 
acquaintance  a  beekeeping  farmer  so  stirred  his 
neighbors  by  sowing  a  small  field  of  sweet 
clover  that  they  sought  to  have  him  prosecuted 
for  introducing  noxious  weeds.  Sweet  clover 
has  now  come  into  its  own  in  that  locality; 
many  farmers  are  growing  it,  and  the  original 


72  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

introducer  has  170  acres  of  it  on  his  400-acre 
farm.  He  also  has  300  colonies  of  bees,  and 
more  than  a  carload  of  the  finest  white  honey 
is  shipped  from  his  apiary  some  seasons. 

Since  it  is  not  profitable  to  grow  crops  espe- 
cially for  bee  pasturage,  the  beekeeper  must 
have  land  enough  for  a  large  acreage  of  some 
crop  valuable  for  honey  production  and  for 
forage  for  livestock,  or  he  must  select  a  loca- 
tion where  suitable  plants  are  grown.  Unless 
he  is  surrounded  with  suitable  flora  he  will  find 
it  difficult  to  grow  a  sufficient  acreage  of  any 
plant  to  make  his  apiary  profitable. 

Bees  fly  over  an  area  from  one  to  three  miles 
in  every  direction  from  the  hive.  It  is  evident 
that  considerable  territory  is  required  to  grow 
a  sufficient  amount  of  bee  pasturage  to  support 
even  a  moderate- sized  apiary.  Five  to  ten 
acres  of  any  special  crop  will  help,  of  course, 
but  no  very  appreciable  increase  of  honey  will 
be  noticed  from  such  a  small  area,  except  under 
unusual  circumstances. 


PASTURE  FOR  BEES  73 

Pasturage  Early  ix  the  Season  Neces- 
sary.— Xo  single  crop  will  make  a  satisfactory 
dependence  for  the  honey  producer,  although 
sweet  clover  will  come  as  near  doing  it  as  any- 
thing. If  the  beekeeper  wants  to  make  honey 
production  an  exclusive  business  he  should  seek 
a  location  where  there  is  a  gi'eat  variety  of 
honey-producing  plants  through  a  long  sea- 
son. Some  of  the  sources  that  produce  the 
largest  yields  are  uncertain,  jaelding  profitably 
only  once  in  two  to  five  years.  Such  a  source 
is  basswood.  When  there  is  a  large  acreage  of 
basswood  forest  within  reach  the  beekeeper 
should  get  a  splendid  crop  from  it  now  and 
then.  But  if  this  is  his  main  dependence  profit- 
able crops  are  likely  to  be  several  years  apart. 

Some  plant  that  yields  nectar  and  pollen 
early  in  the  season,  to  stimulate  brood  rearing 
in  advance  of  the  main  flow,  is  of  great  import- 
ance. For  this  purpose  fruit  bloom  and  dande- 
lions are  much  sought  for  in  the   Xorthern 


74  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

States.  When  nectar  is  coming  to  the  hive  the 
queen  will  be  active  and  will  lay  large  numbers 
of  eggs.  Young  bees  will  shortly  appear  in 
large  numbers,  making  strong  colonies  that  are 
absolutely  essential  to  storing  profitable  honey 
crops.  After  the  long  winters  the  colonies  will 
be  greatly  reduced  and  some  time  will  be  re- 
quired to  enable  them  to  reach  normal  strength. 

When  the  main  honey  flow  is  from  white 
clover,  as  in  most  of  the  Northern  States,  the 
beekeeper  must  lend  every  aid  to  get  the  bees 
ready  for  the  harvest.  Colonies  that  are  weak 
at  the  beginning  of  harvest  are  seldom  profit- 
able, as  the  honey  flow  will  be  over  before  they 
are  ready  for  storing  in  earnest.  Big  colonies, 
with  the  hives  fairly  running  over  with  bees, 
are  the  ones  that  pile  up  honey. 

To  begin  the  season,  as  soon  as  frost  is  out 
of  the  ground  and  the  days  are  warm  enough 
for  the  bees  to  fly,  the  willows  and  maples  fur- 
nish the  first  taste  of  nectar.     The  elms  fur- 


PASTURE  FOR  BEES  75 

nish  large  quantities  of  pollen,  which  is  an 
essential  food  for  the  young  bees.  Following 
these,  the  fruit  trees  bloom  and  then  the  dande- 
lions. Thus  there  is  no  break.  If  nectar  secre- 
tion is  suddenly  checked,  the  queen  will  stop 
laying  until  it  begins  again,  unless  the  bees  are 
fed  to  stimulate  a  light  honey  flow.  Thus  a 
locality  that  favors  early  brood  rearing  is  one 
where  the  bees  are  ready  for  business  when  the 
flow  from  clover  really  begins.  It  often  hap- 
pens that  the  clover  flow  does  not  last  more 
than  two  to  four  weeks.  Strong  colonies  will 
store  a  surprising  amount  of  honey  in  that  short 
period,  which  in  many  localities  is  the  only 
source  of  surplus. 

Alfalfa  is  the  principal  source  of  nectar  in 
many  irrigated  sections  of  the  West.  For  some 
unaccountable  reason  it  secretes  little  nectar  in 
the  humid  regions  east  of  the  Missouri  River, 
but  many  carloads  of  alfalfa  honey  reach  the 
Eastern  markets  from  Colorado,  Idaho,  Utah 
and  other  Western  States. 


76  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

A  number  of  minor  crops  produce  well  in 
limited  localities.  Wild  asters,  of  many  species 
and  of  wide  distribution,  bloom  late  in  the  fall 
and  often  furnish  a  crop  of  honey  in  seasons 
when  other  som^es  have  failed. 

The  partridge  pea  of  the  roadside  is  visited 
freely  by  the  bees  in  the  Northern  States,  but 
little  is  thought  of  it  as  a  honey  plant.  In  parts 
of  Florida  large  crops  are  gathered  from  it.  In 
some  locahties  wild  sunflowers  are  so  abundant 
that  the  bees  profit  wonderfully,  and  a  substan- 
tial addition  is  made  to  the  beekeeper's  output. 
Goldenrod  is  an  uncertain  yielder  in  late  au- 
tumn. In  some  localities  it  is  valued  very 
highly,  and  is  sufficiently  abundant  to  produce 
a  profitable  quantity  of  nectar;  in  other  sec- 
tions the  bees  seldom  visit  it. 

Heartsease  or  smartweed,  also  called  lady's 
thumb,  is  an  important  source  of  honey  in  many 
places.  In  extremely  wet  years,  when  fields 
are  too  wet  to  plant  to  the  usual  crops  or  when 


PASTURE  FOR  BEES  77 

large  areas  are  overflowed,  this  plant  often 
comes  up  over  large  areas  and  yields  heavily  to 
the  bees  in  mid-smnmer.  Plants  like  catnip, 
which  are  not  abundant,  but  }4eld  large  quan- 
tities of  nectar,  add  to  the  sum  total  of  the  sea- 
son's production. 

Locality  is  the  beekeeper's  big  problem.  If 
the  locality  is  poor  little  can  be  done  to  improve 
it  unless  some  profitable  nectar-yielding  plant 
is  generally  introduced  into  the  neighborhood. 
The  conmiercial  growing  of  cucumbers  and 
cantaloupes  furnishes  splendid  pasturage  for 
the  bees  during  the  season  of  bloom.  Buck- 
wheat is  one  of  the  main  sources  of  dependence 
in  New  York  and  other  Eastern  States,  yet  in 
Iowa  it  seldom  amounts  to  much  a^  a  honey 
plant. 

It  often  happens  that  a  season  is  unfavor- 
able in  one  place  while  a  fair  crop  is  gathered 
not  more  than  ten  to  twenty  miles  distant,  be- 
cause of  rains  or  some  other  local  condition. 


78  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

The  wide-awake  beekeeper  often  avoids  failure 
by  moving  his  bees  to  favorable  pasturage. 

The  same  general  principles  will  apply  to 
the  Pacific  Coast  and  the  South,  although  the 
hst  of  plants  will  be  different.  In  mild  climates 
where  the  bees  can  fly  every  week  in  the  year,  it 
is  important  to  have  as  many  plants  that  bloom 
during  the  season  between  honey  flows  as 
possible. 

Ix  CITIES  AXD  Towxs  it  is  scldom  advisable 
to  keep  a  large  number  of  colonies.  Usually 
there  is  suflicient  pasture  from  sweet  clover  and 
such  weeds  as  motherwort  along  the  canals  and 
railroads,  white  clover  on  the  lawns  and  such 
trees  as  bass  wood  in  the  parks  and  along  the 
residence  streets  to  support  the  bees.  The 
author  often  receives  letters  from  city  dwellers 
asking  what  crops  they  can  plant  in  order  to 
keep  bees.  There  seems  to  be  a  common  im- 
pression that  it  might  be  possible  to  grow 
enough  of  some  nectar-producing  plant  in  the 


PASTURE  FOR  BEES  79 

back  yard  to  sup^Dly  the  needs  of  a  colony  or 
two  of  bees  without  difficulty.  Such  persons  are 
always  informed  that  there  is  nothing  that  they 
can  plant  in  such  limited  space  which  will  make 
any  noticeable  difference  in  the  product  of  the 
hive. 

Importance  of  Pollex. — An  abundance 
of  pollen  for  spring  brood  rearing  is  very  im- 
portant, and  plants  that  produce  pollen  in 
quantity  at  this  important  season  are  second  in 
value,  only,  to  plants  that  yield  a  liberal  surplus 
of  honey.  Without  a  plentiful  supply  of  pol- 
len, brood  rearing  will  not  progi^ess  in  a  satis- 
factory manner,  as  it  is  absolutely  essential  for 
larval  food.  In  most  localities  there  is  seldom 
a  scarcity  of  pollen  during  the  height  of  the  sea- 
son, but  in  some  places  the  bees  do  not  find  it 
plentiful  at  the  time  when  they  should  be  build- 
ing up  in  preparation  for  the  honey  flow.  Rye 
flour,  meal  or  other  substitutes  which  will  sup- 
ply the  bees  with  protein  are  sometimes  resorted 


80  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

to  in  an  emergency,  but  there  is  nothing  equal 
to  natural  pollen  for  brood  rearing.  The  suc- 
cessful beekeeper  always  studies  the  honey  and 
pollen  sources  of  his  locality. 

There  are  many  plants  that  furnish  both 
honey  and  pollen,  while  there  are  others  that 
furnish  only  one.  Many  of  the  plants  which 
furnish  pollen  in  greatest  abundance  furnish  no 
nectar  at  any  time. 

The  corn  plant  furnishes  pollen  in  great 
quantities,  yet  the  blossoms  do  not  secrete  nec- 
tar. The  bees  are  said  at  times  to  secure  a 
sweet  substance  from  the  base  of  the  leaves, 
and  since  aphids  are  sometimes  found  on  the 
plant,  honey  dew,  which  is  an  insect  excretion, 
may  be  gathered  from  this  source.  Ragweed, 
elm,  etc.,  are  also  valuable  sources  of  pollen. 

DiFFEREXCES  IX  Seasox\ — There  may  be 
an  abundance  of  blossoms  of  the  best  honey 
plants  and  yet,  in  some  seasons,  the  bees  will 
get  but  little  honey.    Just  what  conditions  in- 


PASTURE  FOR  BEES  81 

fluence  the  flow  of  nectar  are  not  fully  under- 
stood. One  plant  will  yield  most  freely  under 
given  conditions  when  another  will  not  yield 
at  all.  Some  plants  yield  best  under  warm  and 
moist  conditions,  while  others  require  hot  and 
dry  weather.  For  this  reason  plants  that  fur- 
nish honey  in  quantity  in  one  locality,  often  fail 
entirely  in  another.  Alfalfa  is  one  of  the  best 
honey  plants  in  the  West,  but  of  little  value  in 
the  humid  climate  of  the  East.  Buckwheat  is 
a  dependable  source  in  Xew  York,  but  seldom 
produces  any  surplus  in  Iowa. 

All  these  things  must  be  taken  into  account 
by  the  beginner  who  expects  to  realize  a  good 
return  from  his  bees.  He  must  learn  the  kind 
of  blossoms  on  which  to  place  the  most  depen- 
dence in  his  locality,  and  plan  his  operations 
so  as  to  have  his  bees  in  the  best  possible  con- 
dition at  the  time  of  the  bloom  of  these  plants. 
In  Iowa  it  is  of  little  importance  to  have  col- 
onies strong  after  the  close  of  the  white  clover 


82  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

flow,  except  in  a  few  limited  spots.  In  some 
eastern  localities  it  is  not  important  that  the 
colonies  reach  their  maximum  strength  so  early 
since  there  will  be  little  for  them  to  gather  until 
after  midsimimer. 

In  almost  any  locality  there  will  be  an  occa- 
sional season  when  the  honey  crop  will  be  a 
failure.  There  will  also  be  several  years  when 
poor  or  moderate  crops  are  gathered  and  an 
occasional  year  when  a  bountiful  harvest  will 
be  brought  in  by  every  colony  of  reasonable 
strength.  It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind 
that  it  is  only  the  strong  colonies  that  gather  the 
profitable  crops. 

The  Principal  Honey  Plants 
Northeastern  States: 

Basswood,  or  Linden.  Willows. 

Buckwheat.  Maples. 

Clover,     a  1  s  i  k  e,     while,  Milkweed. 

sweet,     etc.        All     the  Spanish  needles, 

clovers  yield  nectar,  but  Indian    currant,    or    coral 
some    have    corollas    so  berry, 

deep   that  the  bees  are  Heartsease,       or       smart- 
unable  to  reach  it.  weeds. 


PASTURE  FOR  BEES 


83 


Fruit  blossoms.  Apples, 
pears,  peaches,  straw- 
berries, raspberries  and 
other  fruits  are  valuable 
honey  plants. 

Dandelions    furnish    both 
nectar     and     pollen     in 
abundance. 
California: 

Yucca. 

Willows. 

Mustard. 

Rocky  Mountain  bee  plant. 

Fruit,  including  orange, 
apple,  pear,  etc. 

Clover,  including  sweet 
clover. 

Alfalfa. 

Lima  bean. 

Alfilerilla  and  filaree. 
Texas : 

Horsemint. 

Alfalfa.   , 

Basswood. 

Cactus  or  prickly  pear. 

Catsclaw  and  huajilla, 
species  of  acacia. 

Wild  sunflowers. 

Mezquit,  or  screw  bean. 

Cotton. 


Vervain,  or  verbena. 

Wild  sunflowers. 

Sumac. 

Asters. 

Golden  rod. 


Prickly  pear. 

Gum,     or    -eucalyptus,    of 

which  there  are  several 

species. 
Blue  thistle. 
Manzanita. 
Carpet  grass. 
Sage,  of  several  kinds. 
Blue  curls. 
Tarweed. 
Goldenrod. 

Sumac. 

White  and  sweet  clover. 

Fruit,  including  apples, 
pears,  etc.,  and  such 
wild  fruits  as  haw- 
thorne. 

Melons  and  cucumbers. 

Hoarhound. 


84 


BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 


Florida  and  Southeastern  States: 


Gallberry. 

TujDclo. 

Cow  pea. 

Hop  tree. 

Holly. 

Logwood. 

Manchineel. 

Fruity     including     orange, 

which     yields     well     in 

Florida. 


Palmetto. 

Partridge  pea. 

Pepper  bush. 

Pepper  tree. 

Pennyroyal. 

Rhododendron. 

Sour  wood. 

Snowvine. 

Titi,  both  white  and  black. 

Tulip  tree. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SUGGESTIOXS  FOR  GETTING   STARTED  WITH   BEES 

It  is  usually  best  to  seek  out  some  beekeeper 
as  near  home  as  possible,  and  buy  two  or  three 
colonies  to  be  moved  to  the  new  location.  If  the 
bees  are  not  in  such  hives  as  the  buyer  wishes 
to  use  they  must  be  transferred  with  the  atten- 
dant discomfort  and  danger  of  loss  of  brood 
and  queen,  as  well  as  the  severe  setback  given 
the  colony  in  the  operation. 

The  up-to-date  beekeeper  who  cannot  get 
what  he  wants  near  home  buys  bees  in  pack- 
ages, queens  included,  and  places  them  on  full 
sheets  of  foundation  in  new  hives.  There  is 
a  minimum  of  trouble  and  bother,  while  the 
bees  act  much  like  a  newly  hived  swarm  and 
proceed  to  comb  building  at  once.  By  this 
method  it  will  be  necessary  to  wait  until  there 
is  honey  to  be  had  in  the  fields,  so  that  the  bees 

85 


86  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

can  build  their  combs  under  favorable  condi- 
tions. Since  there  are  now  numerous  breeders 
who  speciahze  in  bees  in  combless  packages  it 
is  an  easy  matter  to  buy  whatever  number  are 
wanted  and  to  get  them  at  about  the  time  de- 
sired. Correspondence  with  the  breeder  some 
time  in  advance  will  insure  delivery  at  the 
proper  time.  Some  care  should  be  used  to  in- 
sure dealing  with  a  reliable  person.  Since  the 
bee  journals  go  to  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to 
investigate  the  standing  of  their  advertisers, 
it  is  easily  possible  to  protect  one's  self  in  ad- 
vance by  writing  to  the  editor  of  one  of  the 
journals  and  making  enquiry  about  the  stand- 
ing of  the  particular  breeder  with  which  one 
contemplates  placing  the  order. 

If  it  seems  desirable  to  purchase  bees  al- 
ready on  combs,  the  novice  should  always  have 
some  experienced  beekeeper  examine  them  for 
him  if  possible,  to  insure  that  the  bees  are  not 
queenless,  or  that  there  is  not  too  much  drone 


GETTING  STARTED  WITH  BEES  87 

comb  in  the  hive.  It  often  happens  that  the 
person  wishing  to  buy  bees  will  find  it  neces- 
sary to  take  about  what  is  offered.  If  bees  in 
poor  condition  are  purchased,  the  buyer  should 
pay  accordingly  and  know  what  is  necessary  to 
put  them  in  proper  condition  to  harvest  a  prof- 
itable crop.  Personally  the  author  would  pre- 
fer to  pay  a  liberal  price  for  Italian  bees,  on 
straight  combs,  in  good  hives,  than  to  buy  black 
or  hybrid  bees  in  undesirable  hives  at  any 
price.  The  bother  of  transferring,  the  cost  of 
new  hives  and  queens  and  the  time  lost  will 
amount  to  considerable,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
irritation  caused  by  such  a  disagreeable  task, 

Traxsferrixg. — When  the  bees  are  pur- 
chased in  such  hives,  it  is  usually  the  best  plan 
to  leave  them  in  the  old  hive  until  they  swarm. 
The  new  swarm  should  be  hived  in  a  new  ten- 
frame  hive  and  set  where  the  old  one  stood. 
The  old  hive  should  be  set  close  to  one  side  of 
the  new  swarm,  on  the  old  stand.    After  about 


88  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

a  week  set  the  old  hive  on  the  other  side  of  the 
new  one.  The  object  of  this  is  to  get  all  the 
young  bees  as  fast  as  they  emerge  to  go  into  the 
new  hive  with  the  swarm.  After  three  weeks 
from  the  time  that  the  swarm  issued  all  young 
bees  will  have  emerged  and  they  can  then  be 
shaken  in  front  of  the  new  hive  with  the  swarm 
and  the  old  hive  broken  up.  The  old  combs  can 
be  melted  into  wax. 

Another  way  is  to  set  the  new  hive  on  top 
of  the  old  hive  at  once  and  not  wait  for  the 
bees  to  swarm.  The  top  of  the  old  hive  and 
bottom  of  the  new  one  should,  of  course,  be 
removed  so  that  the  new  hive  will  serve  as  a 
super.  Usually  the  queen  will  soon  go  above 
and  begin  to  lay  so  that  the  old  hive  can  be 
removed  from  underneath  as  soon  as  all  the 
brood  has  emerged.  Sufficient  super  room 
should  be  placed  above  the  new  hive  to  permit 
the  bees  to  continue  to  work  without  crowding 
the  new  hive,  or  they  may  be  slow  to  begin 


GETTING  STARTED  WITH  BEES  89 

housekeeping  above  and  simply  use  the  new 
hive  to  store  their  honey. 

Formerly  it  was  a  common  practice  to 
transfer  bees  by  cutting  out  the  combs  from  the 
old  hive  and  tying  them  into  the  frames.  The 
bees  w^ould  fasten  the  combs  to  the  frames  and 
remove  the  strings.  Such  combs,  however,  are 
never  very  satisfactory  and  the  plan  is  not  to  be 
recommended  generally.  There  are  times 
when  bees  are  to  be  removed  from  the  side  of  a 
building  or  hollow  tree  or  other  position  where 
they  are  not  readily  accessible,  when  this 
method  is  necessary.  In  most  cases  it  will  be 
advisable  to  substitute  new  combs  or  full 
sheets  of  foundation,  and  to  melt  up  the  trans- 
ferred combs  after  the  bees  are  established  in 
the  new  hive. 

Time  to  Start. — In  the  Northern  States 
the  best  time  to  begin  beekeeping  is  in  spring. 
When  fruit  trees  are  blooming  is  a  good  time. 
The  bees  can  then  find  plenty  of  stores  from 


90  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

the  beginning,  and  if  the  season  be  favorable 
they  should  store  a  crop  of  honey  for  their 
owner  the  first  summer. 

The  fruit  trees  bloom  several  weeks  before 
the  main  honey  flow,  so  that  there  is  time  for 
a  small  colony  to  build  up  and  become  popu- 
lous before  the  blooming  of  the  white  clover, 
which  is  the  main  source  of  nectar  east  of  the 
Missouri  River. 

Moving  Bees. — If  bees  are  bought  which 
are  already  on  combs  there  are  several  things 
to  be  considered.  If  they  are  moved  but  a  short 
distance,  many  of  the  bees  will  go  back  to  the 
old  location.  If  the  distance  is  two  or  three 
miles  or  more  there  will  be  little  to  fear  on  that 
score.  For  shorter  distances  some  means  must 
be  taken  to  insure  that  they  will  make  note  of 
their  new  location  before  going  to  the  fields. 
It  is  a  common  practice  to  put  the  colony  in  a 
dark  cellar  for  a  few  days  before  setting  them 
on  their  new  stand,  and  then  to  jar  the  hive 


GETTING  STARTED  WITH  BEES  91 

somewhat  when  releasing  them  or  take  some 
other  means  of  causing  them  to  notice  their 
new  location. 

If  they  are  to  be  moved  but  a  few  rods  or 
across  a  small  lot,  the  best  way  is  to  move  them 
two  or  three  feet  each  day.  Even  this  short 
distance  will  cause  them  great  confusion  at 
first,  although  they  will  quickly  adjust  them- 
selves to  it. 

If  there  be  brood  and  honey  in  the  hive  and 
the  weather  be  hot,  there  is  great  danger  of 
melting  the  combs  and  smothering  the  bees 
when  confined.  Even  if  the  hives  are  to  be 
hauled  but  a  few  miles  and  be  on  the  way  only 
an  hour  or  two  plenty  of  ventilation  should  be 
given.  It  is  very  difficult  to  move  bees  heavy 
with  brood  and  honey  in  hot  weather,  for  the 
amount  of  heat  generated  is  surprising.  An 
empty  super  on  top  of  the  hive  to  give  the  bees 
a  place  to  cluster,  and  this  covered  with  screen 
to  provide  ventilation  is  as  little  as  can  be  done 


9i2  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

with  safety.     In  addition,  the  entrance  should 

be  closed,  and  if  the  hive  can  be  raised  a  few 
inches  off  the  bottom  to  leave  a  space  under 
the  frames  it  is  very  desirable.  Xearly  every 
beekeeper  of  experience  can  point  to  some  dis- 
astrous result  of  moving  bees  without  sufficient 
ventilation.  In  cold  weather  or  when  there  is 
little  brood  in  the  hive,  the  difficulties  are 
much  less. 

Starting  Beekeeping  Commercially. — 
To  the  man  who  expects  to  make  beekeeping  a 
business  some  of  the  advice  above  given  will 
hardly  apply.  He  will  wish  to  start  on  a  larger 
scale  and  increase  as  rapidly  as  is  consistent 
with  safety  in  order  to  get  returns  as  soon  as 
possible.  ^ATiile  many  men  have  taken  up  bee- 
keeping without  previous  training  and  have 
succeeded,  it  is  a  better  plan  to  spend  a  season 
in  the  employ  of  a  successful  apiarist  and  to 
become  familiar  with  the  general  practice  of 
beekeeping.     He  can  then  buy  a  reasonable 


GETTING  STARTED  WITH  BEES  93 

number  of  colonies  and  undertake  their  care 
with  httle  risk.  ^Vhile  the  author  is  personally 
acquainted  with  one  man  who  began  by  buying 
eight  hundred  colonies,  even  though  he  knew 
ahnost  nothing  about  bees,  and  has  been  suc- 
cessful, there  is  a  great  deal  of  risk  in  such  a 
venture.  An  epidemic  of  disease,  a  poor  sea- 
son when  robbing  was  bad  or  any  one  of  sev- 
eral adverse  conditions  would  result  very 
disastrously.  While  the  general  advice  to  begin 
with  not  more  than  two  or  three  colonies  may 
not  always  apply,  it  is  much  safer  to  begin  with 
such  a  number  as  one  can  lose  without  seriously 
crippling  one's  resources.  An  apiary  of  fifty 
colonies  properly  handled  can  be  increased  to 
three  or  four  times  that  number  in  a  season, 
and  give  the  owner  some  valuable  experience. 
The  person  who  has  not  had  some  previous  ex- 
perience may  very  well  be  cautioned  against 
plunging  too  heavily  on  the  start.  Even  though 
there  were  no  other  danger,  one  who  has  no 


94  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

particular  system  in  mind  would  easily  be  led 
into  bujang  a  lot  of  equipment  which  will  be 
unsuited  to  the  location  in  which  he  lives,  or  the 
system  of  honey  production  which  he  may  later 
decide  to  follow. 

Choosixg  a  Location. — To  the  man  who 
expects  to  make  honey  production  a  business 
the  choice  of  a  location  is  a  most  important  mat- 
ter. The  honey  plants  within  reach  and  the 
markets  available  for  his  crop  are  both  prime 
essentials  for  success.  If  the  locality  is  already 
well  stocked  with  bees  he  cannot  hope  for  a 
profitable  venture  unless  he  buy  out  some  man 
already  on  the  ground,  and  thus  take  over  the 
bees  that  are  ah'eady  located. 

If  there  are  long  periods  of  time  when  no 
honey  is  gathered,  it  will  draw  too  heavily  on 
the  stores  to  make  a  profitable  season  probable. 
A  desirable  location  is  one  where  there  is  some- 
thing from  which  the  bees  can  at  least  get  a 
living  during  most  of  the  growing  season,  so 


GETTING  STARTED  WITH  BEES  95 

that  the  honey  stored  during  the  main  honey 
flow  will  be  mostly  surplus.  If  there  are  two 
good  honey  flows  so  much  the  better.  There 
are  man\'  localities  where  the  bees  get  sufficient 
stores  for  early  brood  rearing  from  fruit  bloom 
and  dandelion  blossoms,  followed  by  a  good 
flow  from  white  and  sweet  clover  and  also  an- 
other later  flow  from  heartsease,  Spanish 
needle  or  some  other  plant. 

An  abundance  of  pollen  early  in  spring  is 
an  important  consideration,  for  without  it  the 
bees  are  slow  in  breeding  up  populous  colonies, 
such  as  are  essential  for  storing  big  crops  (see 
Chapter  VI). 

In  some  favorable  markets  honey  brings 
twice  the  price  that  it  does  in  others.  If  one  is 
so  situated  that  he  can  build  up  a  profitable 
retail  trade  and  thus  reahze  the  maximum 
price  for  his  product,  it  will  add  materially 
to  his  income. 

In  general  it  will  not  pay  a  man  to  leave 


96  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

his  home  community  and  move  to  a  distant 
state  to  engage  in  beekeeping,  unless  there  is 
some  reason  for  going  other  than  to  find  bee 
pasturage,  for  there  are  few  bonanza  bee  loca- 
tions. However,  it  often  happens  that  a  dis- 
tance of  but  a  few  miles  in  one's  ovm  county 
will  make  a  great  difference  in  the  possible 
honey  production.  The  character  of  the  crops 
grown,  nearness  to  streams  and  similar  things 
make  more  difference  than  long  distances  in 
miles.  A  neighborhood  whei-e  alsike  clover  is 
groAvn  for  seed,  or  w^here  there  are  large  areas 
of  white  clover  pasture,  should  be  much  better 
than  neighborhoods  where  most  of  the  land  is 
cultivated  in  such  crops  as  corn  and  wheat.  The 
vicinity  of  fruit  gi^owers,  or  truck  gardeners 
should  be  desired,  other  things  being  equal. 

Placing  the  Apiaky. — An  apiary  should 
never  be  placed  in  an  exposed  position  if  it  can 
be  avoided.  A  sheltered  position  is  very  de- 
sirable,   especially    during    the    cold    spring 


GETXmG  STARTED  WITH  BEES  97 

months.  A  natural  windbreak  is  much  more 
serviceable  in  breaking  the  winds  than  a  tight 
board  fence  or  a  building. 

Partial  shade  is  to  be  preferred  to  open 
sunshine,  at  least  for  the  comfort  of  the  bee- 
keeper. While  many  apiaries  placed  in  the 
blazing  sun  seem  to  give  as  good  results  as 
those  in  shade,  the  shaded  situation,  if  not  too 
dense,  is  to  be  preferred.  Bees  will  not  do  as 
well  in  a  situation  where  there  is  too  much 
shade.  Hives  left  in  the  open  sun  should  be 
shaded  with  boards. 

Keeping  Dowx  Weeds  axd  Grass.— 
Some  provision  should  be  made  for  keeping  the 
entrance  of  the  hive  free  from  grass  and  weeds. 
One  often  sees  the  hives  surrounded  with  such 
a  dense  gi^owth  that  the  bees  coming  in  with 
their  loads  can  reach  the  hive  with  difficulty. 
Many  heavily  laden  bees  will  be  lost  under  such 
circumstances.  Hives  should  be  so  placed  that 
when  a  bee  drops  to  the  ground  in  front  she  can 


98  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

crawl  in  without  having  to  take  wing  again. 
A  half  hour's  watch  beside  the  hive  during  the 
height  of  the  honey  flow  will  soon  demonstrate 
the  importance  of  easy  access  to  the  hive  for 
the  home-coming  workers.  Hives  set  up  on 
stakes  or  blocks  are  very  difficult  of  access  to 
bees  that  fall  to  the  ground  before  reaching  the 
ahghting  board.  In  most  well-regulated  api- 
aries the  hives  are  placed  on  cement  hive  stands, 
or  on  boards  so  that  the  bees  can  walk  right  into 
the  hive  from  the  ground  in  front.  If  they  are 
two  or  three  inches  higher  than  the  ground 
around,  a  board  is  leaned  against  the  front  of 
the  alighting  board  to  bridge  the  gap. 

Providing  Water. — It  is  important  that 
water  be  easy  of  access,  as  the  bees  use  large 
quantities  of  it,  especially  in  spring  when  brood 
rearing  is  at  its  height.  A  tub  or  half  barrel  of 
water,  covered  with  chipped  cork  or  shavings 
which  will  enable  the  bees  to  reach  the  water 
without  drowning  will  serve  the  purpose  very 


GETTING  STARTED  WITH  BEES  99 

well.  Such  a  watering  place  should  be  placed 
early  in  spring  before  the  bees  form  the  habit 
of  visiting  water  troughs  or  pumps,  and  thus 
annoying  the  neighbors.  It  is  a  simple  matter 
to  provide  water  in  some  open  dish  with  suit- 
able provision  to  save  the  bees  from  drowning, 
but  it  is  important,  unless  there  be  a  pond  or 
stream  within  easy  reach  of  the  apiary. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

WHEX  BEES  MUST  BE  FED 

Although  under  normal  conditions  bees 
not  only  gather  their  own  food,  but  store  a  sur- 
plus for  their  owner,  there  are  times  when  it 
becomes  necessary  to  supply  them  with  food. 
Every  year  hundreds  of  colonies  die  for  lack  of 
sufficient  stores  because  their  owner  is  careless 
or  ignorant  of  their  needs.  It  is  very  poor 
policy  to  permit  the  bees  to  starve,  and  it  is 
easy  to  supply  their  needs  in  this  direction. 

Swarms  which  issue  late  will  often  be 
unable  to  gather  sufficient  honey  to  carry  them 
through  the  winter.  They  can  either  be  fed  or 
united  with  stronger  swarms  which  have  a  plen- 
tiful supply,  as  seems  best.  A  large  swarm  will 
winter  on  less  honey  than  a  small  one,  and  be 
worth  much  more  in  spring.  The  reason  of  this 
is  very  apparent.    The  source  of  the  heat  of  the 

100 


WHEN  BEES  MUST  BE  FED  101 

colony  is  the  honey  consumed  and  it  will  require 
a  larger  consumption  of  food  to  maintain  the 
temperature  of  a  small  cluster  than  a  large  one, 
just  as  less  fuel  is  required  to  warm  a  room  full 
of  people,  than  one  in  which  there  are  only  two 
or  three  persons. 

If  the  colony  be  a  large  one,  it  will  pay  to 
feed  them  a  considerable  amount  of  stores  in 
order  to  get  them  through  the  winter,  but 
a  weak  colony  is  usually  worth  more  to 
strengthen  medium  or  stronger  ones  than  alone. 

Ix  REMOYixG  THE  HONEY  it  oftcu  happens 
that  an  insufficient  quantity  is  left  for  the  bees. 
Before  the  bees  are  put  away  for  winter, 
they  should  be  carefully  examined  to  make  sure 
that  a  plentiful  supply  of  stores  is  still  in  the 
hive.  An  equivalent  of  five  or  six  full  combs 
will  usually  be  needed,  and  sometimes  more.  It 
is  much  safer  to  leave  more  than  they  will  need 
than  to  take  chances  on  an  insufficient  supply. 


102  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

The  author  usually  plans  to  leave  at  least 
forty  pounds  of  honey  for  wintering.  If  the 
following  spring  is  mild  and  favorable,  it  will 
not  all  be  used,  but  if  the  weather  in  March  and 
April  is  cold  and  backward  they  will  often  need 
to  be  given  an  additional  supply  to  keep  up 
brood  rearing  until  the  honey  flow  begins  (see 
Winter  Preparation). 

The  usual  advice  to  allow  twenty-five 
pounds  does  not  make  a  sufficient  allowance  for 
an  unfavorable  spring  following  the  winter, 
and  it  is  easier  and  safer  to  give  a  plentiful 
supply  in  the  fall  to  insure  safety  until  after 
fruit  bloom. 

In  seasons  of  scarcity  the  beekeeper 
should  always  examine  his  colonies  to  make 
sure  that  they  have  sufficient  stores.  If  the 
weather  is  cold  and  wet  in  early  spring  so  that 
the  bees  have  little  opportunity  to  fly,  there  is 
danger  that  all  stores  will  be  consumed  in  brood 
rearing  and  the  colony  will  perish,  as  already 


WHEN  BEES  MUST  BE  FED  103 

stated.     This  is  a  common  occurrence  among 
bees  whose  owners  give  them  httle  attention. 

Ahnost  every  season  there  will  be  times 
during  the  summer  when  no  honey  is  coming  to 
the  hives,  and  if  this  condition  prevails  for  any 
length  of  time  the  owner  should  guard  against 
starvation.  The  author  has  known  of  many 
colonies  starving  in  June,  just  at  what  should 
have  been  the  time  of  a  good  honey  flow.  A 
long  continued  spell  of  rainv  weather  durincy 
which  the  bees  could  not  fly  was  the  cause.  If 
such  weather  follows  the  time  when  the  honey 
is  taken  from  the  hives  at  any  time,  some  at- 
tention is  necessary  to  guard  against  disaster 
from  lack  of  food. 

Occasionally  there  will  be  a  year  when  httle 
honey  is  stored  all  season  through.  At  such 
times  there  is  gi-eat  loss,  for  too  many  bee- 
keepers depend  upon  the  bees  looking  out  for 
themselves,  and  never  make  any  provision  for 
feeding  them.    It  would  be  no  more  foolish  to 


104  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

permit  cattle  or  hogs  to  die  of  starvation  be- 
cause the  forage  crops  are  not  sufficient,  than 
to  allow  the  bees  to  do  so.  They  will  harvest 
enough  honey  in  a  few  weeks  of  good  honey 
flow  to  tide  them  over  a  very  long  period  of 
adverse  condition. 

For  Queex  Rearing  and  Building  up 
Nuclei. — At  any  time  during  the  summer 
when  the  honey  flow  stops  and  the  bees  stop 
bringing  honey  to  the  hive,  the  queen  will  check 
her  egg  laying.  The  queen  breeder  who  wishes 
to  raise  queens  at  such  seasons,  or  the  beekeeper 
who  has  a  lot  of  nuclei  ( small  colonies  made  by 
division),  will  often  find  it  necessary  to  feed 
the  bees,  even  though  there  is  plenty  of  honey 
in  the  hive.  Brood-rearing  must  continue  in 
these  small  colonies  if  they  are  to  become  suf- 
ficiently populous  to  winter  as  strong  colonies. 
A  little  sugar  s>Tup  every  day,  in  imitation  of 
the  natural  amount  of  honey  coming  to  the 
hive,  will  greatly  assist  in  keeping  the  queen  at 
her  regular  duties. 


WHEN  BEES  MUST  BE  FED  105 

How  TO  Feed. — The  best  possible  feed  for 
bees  is  the  natural  food,  which  is  honey.  The 
beekeeper  will  do  well  to  reserve  one  full  comb 
for  every  colony  of  bees  that  he  has  for  feed- 
ing in  case  of  emergency.  This  does  not  in- 
clude the  feed  to  be  given  at  the  close  of  the 
honey  flow  for  the  purpose  of  wintering,  but 
there  should  be  a  hberal  reserve  after  the  bees 
are  ready  for  winter,  to  insure  an  abundance  of 
honey  for  spring  brood-rearing.  Some  seasons 
it  will  not  be  needed,  but  it  is  very  convenient 
to  have  at  such  times  as  feeding  is  necessary. 

One  gi^eat  advantage  in  using  natui^al  stores 
is  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be  given.  When  a 
colony  is  found  that  needs  stores,  all  that  is 
necessary  is  to  remove  an  empty  comb  and  give 
a  filled  one  in  its  place. 

Feeding  Sugar  Syrup. — If  sealed  honey 
is  not  available,  sugar  sjTup  is  the  next  best 
thing.  The  author  would  never  advise  feeding 
extracted  honey,  since  it  is  more  convenient  to 
feed  sugar. 


106  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

The  novice  will  very  often  feed  his  bees  with 
corn  syrup,  molasses,  or  other  sweet,  with  the 
mistaken  idea  that  the  bees  can  make  use  of  any 
sweet  substance.  Such  experiments  often  re- 
sult in  the  death  of  the  bees.  If  honey  is  not  at 
hand,  granulated  sugar  is  the  only  thing  that 
should  be  used.  It  is  not  safe  to  buy  honey  for 
feeding,  because  of  the  danger  of  getting  honey 
from  diseased  colonies  and  thus  bringing  dis- 
ease into  the  apiary. 

A  thick  syrup  should  always  be  used  for 
winter  feed.  Usually  two  parts  sugar  to  one 
of  water  are  used.  By  dissolving  the  sugar  in 
boiling  water  and  stirring  freely  the  sugar  will 
dissolve  fully.  Many  use  equal  parts  of  sugar 
and  water  because  it  is  easier  to  prepare  the 
syrup  than  when  a  thicker  one  is  made.  When 
feeding  for  winter,  it  is  well  to  save  the  bees  as 
much  as  possible,  especially  if  it  be  late  in  the 
season.  In  spring  when  feeding  for  brood- 
rearing  or  to  carry  the  bees  over  a  temporary 


WHE^  BEES  MUST  BE  FED  107 

shortage  of  nectar,  a  thinner  syrup  will  do. 
Feeders. — The   purchase    of   unnecessary 
equipment    should    always    be    discouraged. 
AMiile  at  times  a  lot  of  feeders  are  convenient, 
the  careful  beekeeper  will  be  able  to  plan  his 
operations  in  such  a  manner  as  seldom  to  find 
use  for  them.    As  convenient  a  way  of  feeding 
as  the  writer  has  ever  seen  is  that  practiced  by 
D.  E.  Lhommedieu,  a  well-known  Iowa  bee- 
keeper.   He  makes  his  syrup  in  a  wash-boiler 
and  when  ready  for  use  takes  empty  combs  and 
holding  them  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five 
degrees,  pours  the  warm  syi^up  into  them  with 
an  ordinary  dipper.     The  syrup  must  not  be 
hot  for  wax  melts  at  a  low  temperature  and  if 
too  hot  it  would  injure  the  combs.    By  turning 
the  comb  first  on  one  side  and  then  over  and 
filhng  both  sides,  it  will  hold  enough  sjTup  to 
make  a  very  good  supply  for  temporary  pur- 
poses, such  as  spring  stimulative  feeding.     If 
there  be  a  long-continued  dearth,  several  such 


108  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

combs  will  be  needed.  These  filled  combs  of 
s}Tup  are  placed  in  the  hive  in  the  same  way 
that  combs  of  honey  or  empty  combs  are  given. 

Another  method  which  utilizes  equipment 
that  every  beekeeper  has  at  hand,  is  to  take  an 
empty  super  and  place  on  top  of  the  hive.  In 
this  empty  super  is  placed  a  tin  pan  of  syrup 
and  over  the  syrup  a  thin  cotton  cloth  is  spread. 
The  bees  can  walk  over  the  cloth  and  suck  the 
liquid  through  it  vnth  little  danger  of  drown- 
ing. The  super  is  placed  on  the  hive  in  the 
same  manner  as  supers  are  for  the  storing  of 
honey  and  the  cover  placed  over  all.  Being 
directly  over  the  cluster  there  is  a  minimum 
danger  of  starting  robbing,  as  often  happens 
when  feed  is  placed  near  the  entrance. 

There  are  numerous  different  kinds  of  feed- 
ers on  the  market  and  the  reader  who  wishes 
something  different  can  find  them  listed  in  the 
catalogue  of  any  dealer  in  supplies. 


CHAPTER  IX 

USE  OF  FOUNDATION 

One  thing  which  has  been  impressed  upon 
the  writer  by  his  work  as  a  bee  inspector,  is 
the  enormous  losses  among  beekeepers  gen- 
erally from  rearing  useless  drones.     It  is  not 
uncommon  in  neglected  apiaries  to  find  hives 
with  one-third  to  more  than  one-half  drone 
comb.    In  some  apiaries  where  good  equipment 
is  used  and  fairly  good  practice  followed  other- 
wise, this  fault  is  apparent.    It  is  very  evident 
that  the  owTiers  of  such  outfits  cannot  reahze 
the  great  cost  of  rearing  such  large  numbers  of 
loafers  instead  of  producing  a  profitable  work- 
ing force.    If  they  did,  such  conditions  would 
not  be  tolerated. 

It  requires  as  much  food  and  attention  from 
the  nurse  bees  to  rear  drones  as  workers,  and 
the  drones  will  continue  to  be  a  tax  on  the  col- 

109 


110  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

ony  after  they  reach  maturity,  since  they  are 
consumers  and  not  producers.  It  will  be  read- 
ily seen  that  a  colony  which  is  producing  twenty 
per  cent,  or  more  of  drones  will  seldom  yield  a 
satisfactory  profit  to  the  owner.  i\t  the  Iowa 
Beekeepers'  Convention,  C.  E.  Dustman  had 
an  interesting  paper  on  drones.  He  estimated 
that  a  square  foot  of  drone  comb  in  the  hive 
would  produce  more  than  two  thousand  drones, 
while  the  same  space  and  food  might  have  been 
made  to  produce  more  than  three  thousand 
workers  to  add  to  the  hive's  productive  force. 
The  writer  has  often  found  it  hard  to  con- 
vince the  novice  of  the  value  of  full  sheets  of 
foundation.  The  first  cost  looks  large  and  too 
often  the  bees  are  permitted  to  build  their  own 
combs  with  but  a  narrow  strip  of  starter  to  pre- 
vent building  crosswise.  The  two  illustrations 
(Figs.  10  and  11)  which  we  show  in  this  con- 
nection tell  more  than  pages  of  description. 
The  impressions  on  the  foundation  being  the 


USE  OF  FOUNDATION 


111 


-.♦^-»«^^^' 


Fig.  10. — A  good  brood  comb  as  a  result  of  a  full  sher[  of  foundation. 


Fig.  11. — A  comb  composed  largely  of  drone  cells  as  a  result  of  a 
narrow  starter. 


112  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

exact  size  and  shape  of  the  bases  of  worker 
cells,  the  bees  will  build  mostly  worker  cells 
where  foundation  is  used.  Drone  cells  being 
larger  require  less  wax  in  their  construction  and 
less  labor  as  well.  This  being  the  case  wherever 
worker  cells  are  not  needed  for  immediate  use 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  queen,  drone  cells  will 
be  built,  for  they  serve  equally  as  well  for  stor- 
ing honey.  Fig.  10  shows  an  ideal  comb,  at- 
tached on  all  four  sides  to  the  frame  and 
composed  entirely  of  worker  cells  most  of 
which  contain  sealed  brood.  Fig.  11  shows  a 
comb  which  is  composed  mostly  of  drone  cells 
as  a  result  of  using  a  narrow  starter  instead  of 
a  full  sheet  of  foundation.  The  high  arched 
cappings  show  that  many  of  these  cells  contain 
sealed  drone  brood.  The  cost  in  honey  to  rear 
a  single  brood  of  drones  in  such  a  comb  would 
pay  for  a  full  sheet  of  foundation.  This  comb 
can  be  used  as  an  extracting  comb,  but  is  a 
nuisance,  since  if  it  chances  to  o^et  into  the 


USE  OF  FOUNDATION  113 

brood  nest  the  queen  will  make  use  of  it  to  rear 
a  brood  of  drones.  Usually  it  will  pay  better 
to  melt  up  such  a  comb  at  once  and  replace  it 
with  a  full  sheet  (Fig.  12)  rather  than  risk 
getting  it  used  in  this  manner. 

Irregular    combs,    also,    are    often    built 


Fig.  12.— Full  sheet  of  fuimdation  in  wired  frame,  ready  for  the  bees. 

where  narrow  strips  are  used.  Xot  only  are  the 
combs  hkely  to  be  composed  mostly  of  drone 
cells,  but  they  are  hkely  to  be  uneven,  which 
makes  them  undesirable.  Uneven  combs  can- 
not readily  be  exchanged,  and  much  time  is 
also  lost  in  uncapping  or  manipulating  them. 
The  bees  will  always  build  some  drone  cells 


114  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

in  the  best  regulated  hives,  and  a  small  number 
are  not  objectionable.  The  presence  of  some 
drones  is  necessary  to  insure  the  mating  of 
young  queens,  but  there  is  little  danger  that 
there  will  be  a  shortage  for  this  purpose  under 
normal  conditions.  Where  full  sheets  of  foun- 
dation are  used,  small  clusters  of  drone  cells 
are  often  built  in  the  corners  or  at  the  ends. 

If  combs  are  damaged  in  any  way,  the  ten- 
dency is  always  to  repair  them  with  cells  of  the 
larger  size.  Mice  are  fond  of  gnawing  the 
combs  and  where  the  hive  entrances  are  left 
wide  open  in  winter,  they  are  likely  to  enter  and 
cause  much  damage.  If  the  mice  do  not  disturb 
the  bees  to  the  point  where  the  colony  will  per- 
ish before  spring,  there  will  still  be  much  dam- 
age to  the  combs.  The  portions  that  are  rebuilt 
the  following  season  will  usually  be  composed 
of  drone  cells. 

The  writer  is  not  only  convinced  that  it  pays 
to  use  full  sheets  of  foundation  in  the  brood 


USE  OF  FOUNDATION  115 

chamber,  but  fully  believes  that  without  them 
honey  production  is  seldom  profitable.  That 
he  practices  what  he  preaches  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  as  this  is  wi^tten  he  is  just  finish- 
ing the  preparation  of  more  than  twelve  hun- 
dred frames  of  full  sheets  for  use  in  one  small 
apiary  to  replace  discarded  combs,  and  to  pro- 
vide reserve  extracting  combs.  Without  a 
large  working  force,  big  crops  can  never  be 
harvested.  The  rearing  of  several  thousand 
worthless  drones  to  consume  the  honey,  take 
the  attention  of  the  workers  and  get  in  the  way 
generally,  does  not  tend  in  this  direction. 

FouxDATiox  IX  Sectioxs. — Some  kind  of 
starter  is  absolutely  essential  to  getting  the 
bees  started  to  work  in  the  comb-honey  supers. 
It  is  very  common  practice  to  use  a  three-cor- 
nered piece  of  thin  foundation  no  more  than 
two  inches  across  and  sometimes  much  smaller. 
It  is  difficult  for  the  bees  to  work  to  advantao-e 
on  such  small  starters.    Full  sheets  which  lack 


116  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  of  reaching 
the  bottom  or  sides  are  much  more  economical, 
for   they    furnish   the    bees   with    a   sufficient 


Fig.  13. — Different  methods  of  using  foundation  in  sections. 
The  section  at  the  left  with  full  sheet  and  bottom  starter  is  the  best 
method. 

amount  of  wax  to  start  working  nicely  and 
room  enough  to  permit  a  nice  little  cluster  to 


Fig.   U.— The  thin  sheets  of  wax  are  impressed  with  the  cell  bases 
of  proper  size  to  induce  the  bees  to  build  worker  combs. 

work  at  one  time.  Thin  or  extra  thin  founda- 
tion should  always  be  used  in  the  sections.  It 
costs  more  per  pound,  but  is  so  much  lighter 


USE  OF  FOUNDATION  117 

that  a  pound  will  go  much  further,  and  it 
is  much  better  adaj^ted  to  this  purpose  than  the 
heavier  foundation  used  in  the  brood  frames, 
Xot  only  do  the  bees  occupy  the  sections  more 
readily  where  full  sheets  are  used,  but  they 
build  more  even  combs  and  store  more  honey 
as  a  result  (Fig.  13). 

Economizing  in  the  use  of  foundation  is 
much  like  saving  seed  when  one  is  planting  a 
crop.  While  it  costs  more  to  use  full  sheets  to 
begin  with,  so  much  more  honey  will  be  stored 
as  a  result  that  the  increased  cost  is  a  profitable 
investment.  Fig.  14  shows  how  the  thin  sheets 
of  wax  are  impressed  with  the  cell  base  which 
induces  the  bees  to  build  worker  combs. 


CHAPTER  X 

BREEDING  BETTER  BEES 

Good  stock  is  as  important  to  the  beekeeper 
as  to  the  stockman.  It  is,  however,  a  much 
simpler  matter  to  improve  the  strain  of  bees  in 
an  apiary  than  to  make  a  similar  change  in  a 
herd  of  cattle  or  even  a  flock  of  chickens.  The 
life  of  the  honeybee  is  short  and  the  placing  of 
a  pure  queen  at  the  head  of  the  colony  will  have 
the  effect  of  replacing  the  whole  working  force 
of  a  hive  with  pure  stock  within  a  few  weeks, 
or  months,  at  most.  If  the  colony  is  requeened 
in  spring  or  summer  the  former  stock  will  be 
replaced  in  a  very  short  time.  If  the  change  is 
made  in  late  autumn  many  of  the  late  maturing 
bees  from  the  former  queen  will  remain  in  the 
hive  until  the  following  spring.  During  the 
honey  flow  the  bees  work  at  a  furious  pace  and 
the  whole  colony  is  in  a  fever  of  excitement.  As 

118 


BREEDING  BETTER  BEES      119 

a  result  the  individual  soon  wears  her  life  away 
in  adding  to  the  store  of  the  community. 

The  Queen  Is  Producti\t:. — Since  all  the 
eggs  from  which  this  large  working  force  is 
produced  are  laid  by  one  queen,  she  must  be 
enormous^  productive.  xVll  the  beekeeper's 
plans  are  laid  with  the  end  in  view  of  bringing 
each  colony  to  the  beginning  of  the  honey  har- 
vest with  the  gi-eatest  possible  number  of  bees 
in  the  hive.  One  extra  strong  colony  will  store 
more  honey  during  a  hea^y  flow  than  two  or 
three  medium  colonies,  and  often  more  than 
a  dozen  weak  ones.  It  is  estimated  that  queens 
in  populous  colonies  lay  from  two  to  three 
thousand  or  more  eggs  daily  during  the  height 
of  the  season.  In  spite  of  this  large  produc- 
tion the  colony  often  does  not  apparently  in- 
crease in  strength  after  the  honey  flow  is  really 
on,  so  rapidly  do  the  workers  wear  themselves 
out  in  the  harvest  field. 

It  is  then  of  the  utmost  importance  for  the 


120  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

beekeeper  to  breed  from  the  most  prolific 
queens.  While  this  is  of  first  importance,  since 
it  largely  determines  the  size  of  the  crop,  there 
are  other  important  characteristics  which  must 
not  be  overlooked. 

Desirable  Traits. — No  matter  how  good 
a  record  a  colony  may  have  for  production,  if 
the  bees  are  cross  and  drive  everybody  out  of 
the  yard,  the  queen  will  not  do  to  use  as  a 
breeder.  Xext  to  production,  gentleness  is  the 
most  desirable  trait.  If  it  were  not  for  the 
fear  of  stings  the  number  of  beekeepers  would 
be  multiplied  many  fold.  There  are  strains  of 
bees  which  are  very  gentle  under  favorable  con- 
ditions, and  can  often  be  handled  safely  with- 
out protection.  Xot  long  since  the  writer 
visited  queen-breeding  apiaries  which  are 
among  the  largest  in  the  world.  The  propri- 
etor stated  that  he  never  uses  a  queen  as  a 
breeder  when  the  colony  cannot  be  handled 
safely  without  smoke.     Beekeepers  generally 


BREEDING  BETTER  BEES  1^1 

use  smoke  to  control  the  bees.  While  under 
general  apiary  conditions  it  is  seldom  desirable 
to  undertake  operations  without  a  lighted 
smoker  at  hand,  there  are  often  individual  col- 
onies which  will  not  resent  the  manipulation  of 
the  frames  even  though  no  smoke  is  used.  The 
selections  of  the  queens  at  the  head  of  such 
colonies  for  use  as  breeders,  generation  after 
generation,  will  hasten  the  time  when  stings 
will  seldom  interfere  with  the  work  of  the 
beekeeper. 

Following  production  and  gentleness  the 
non-swarming  tendency  is  greatly  to  be  desired. 
While  there  is  much  difference  in  the  strains  in 
this  respect,  it  is  to  a  much  greater  extent  under 
the  control  of  the  beekeeper  than  the  other 
factors  named.  If  the  bees  swarm  and  the 
working  force  is  divided  at  the  beginning  of  the 
harvest,  the  crop  is  likely  to  be  reduced  as  a 
result,  unless  the  flow  lasts  for  a  long  period. 
In  most  localities  where  honey  production  is 


U^2  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

followed  extensively  the  honey  flows  are  rapid 
and  of  short  duration.  It  is  of  great  import- 
ance under  such  conditions  to  keep  the  colony 
together  until  the  harvest  is  gathered.  Hence 
the  non-s warming  tendency  is  desirable. 

The  Male  Pakextage. — One  serious 
drawback  in  queen  breeding  is  the  difficulty  of 
controlling  the  male  parentage.  The  queen 
mates  on  the  wing  and  often  meets  a  drone 
from  a  distant  colony  which  may  be  of  another 
race  or  inferior  stock.  The  man  who  cannot 
send  his  queens  to  some  isolated  position  where 
there  are  no  other  bees  within  four  or  five 
miles  can  do  little  to  overcome  this  condition, 
other  than  to  raise  such  large  numbers  of 
drones  from  his  desirable  colonies  that  the 
chances  of  meeting  undesirable  males  is  very 
greatly  reduced. 

Another  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
quality  of  the  male  offspring  is  determined 
rather  by  the  mating  of  the  mother  of  the 


BREEDING  BETTER  BEES  123 

queen  than  by  her  own.    If  it  so  happens  that 
a  queen  has  no  opportunity^  to  mate,  she  may 
still  lay  large  numbers  of  eggs  which  will  hatch, 
but   they   will    all    produce    drones.      If   her 
mother  was  purely  mated  her  offspring  will  be 
pure,   but  if  her  mother  was  mismated,  her 
drones  will  be  impure,  regardless  of  the  fact  of 
whether  she  is  purely  mated  herself  or  whether 
she  be  mated  at  all.    It  thus  sometimes  happens 
that    a   mismated   queen   whose   mother    was 
purely  mated  will  produce  drones  which  are 
pure,  and  her  female  offspring  influenced  by 
her  own  impure  mating  will  all  be  crosses.    It 
should  be  mentioned  in  passing  that  one  mating 
is  sufficient  for  life  and  a  mismated  queen  is 
unable  to  produce  pure  offspring  from  later 
pure  matings. 

The  Practical  Result. — AVliile  the 
above  conditions  add  greatly  to  the  perplexities 
of  the  queen  breeder  who  would  breed  scien- 
tifically, thev  offer  decided  advantages  to  the 


124  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

beekeeper  who  wishes  to  improve  his  stock  in  the 
quickest  time  and  with  least  expense.  By  buy- 
ing a  purely  mated  queen  and  breeding  from 
her  he  can  soon  change  the  conditions  in  his 
apiary  even  though  his  young  queens  meet  im- 
pure drones.  If  he  has,  say,  one  hundred 
colonies  of  bees  and  will  rear  one  hundred 
queens  from  the  purely  mated  mother  and  re- 
queen  all  his  colonies  his  yard  will  soon  be 
full  of  pure  drones.  At  the  same  time  the 
workers  will  all  be  crosses  since  the  young 
queens  have  had  no  opportunity  to  meet  pure 
drones  on  their  mating  flights.  If  the  yard  is 
requeened  early  in  spring  a  second  lot  of  queens 
can  be  reared  in  late  summer  from  the  same 
purely  mated  mother.  By  this  time  most  of 
the  original  drones  will  have  disappeared  and 
the  apiary  w^ill  be  abundantly  supplied  with 
pure  males.  The  second  lot  of  queens  will  meet 
pure  drones  and  they  can  be  used  to  replace  the 
mismated  stock  already  present.  In  this  simple 


BREEDING  BETTER  BEES  125 

manner  the  entire  apiary  of  one  hundred  col- 
onies can  be  changed  from  undesirable  impure 
stock  to  pure  stock  of  selected  strain  in  one  or, 
at  most,  two  seasons  and  with  httle  expense 
aside  from  the  labor  of  the  beekeeper. 

The  beekeper  can  readily  secm^e  good  stock 
at  from  one  dollar  to  two  dollars  each  for 
queens  and  selected  queens  at  a  somewhat, 
higher  figure. 

Methods    of    Rearing     Queens.— The 
methods  used  for  rearing  queens  will  depend 
upon  the  nmnber  needed  and  the  conditions 
under  which  the  beekeeper  is  working.    If  only 
a  few  are  wanted  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  remove 
the  queen  from  the  colony  from  whose  off- 
spring it  is  desired  to  produce  them.    In  a  nor- 
mal colony  as  soon  as  the  queen  is  removed  the 
bees  will  proceed  to  build  cells  to  rear  queens 
to  make  sure  of  replacing  the  mother  of  the 
colony.    As  soon  as  the  queen  cells  are  sealed 
they  can  be  removed  very  carefully  and  one 


126  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

placed  in  each  of  the  hives  which  are  to  be  re- 
queened.  The  queen  to  be  replaced  must  be 
removed  about  twelve  hours  before  the  cell  is 
given,  or  it  may  not  be  accepted.  The  cell 
should  be  fastened  carefully  in  the  center  of  the 
brood  nest  to  insure  that  it  will  not  be  chilled. 
One  cell  must  be  left  in  the  parent  colony  to 
replace  the  queen  taken  away  in  the  beginning, 
unless  she  is  to  be  returned. 

By  this  method  the  queens  are  mated  from 
the  hives  in  which  they  are  to  remain,  and  the 
beekeeper  only  needs  to  make  sure  that  the  col- 
onies where  the  young  queen  fails  to  return 
safely  from  the  mating  trip  are  given  another 
cell  or  queen.  While  this  plan  is  simple  and 
w^ill  serve  all  purposes  where  but  a  few  queens 
are  wanted,  it  is  too  slow  for  extensive  use. 

When  large  numbers  of  queen  cells  are 
wanted,  artificial  cells,  made  of  beeswax  and 
shaped  as  nearly  as  possible  like  an  embryo 
queen  cell  are  utilized.    To  begin  with,  a  colony 


BREEDING  BETTER  BEES      127 

is  made  queenless  and  permitted  to  start  queen 
cells.  From  these  a  supply  of  royal  jelly  is 
secured.  Royal  jelly  is  a  milky,  jelly-like,  sub- 
stance which  the  bees  feed  freely  to  queens  in 
the  larval  stage.  This  richer  food  and  the 
larger  cell  are  sufficient  to  enable  a  young  larva 
from  a  worker  cell  to  develop  into  a  queen. 

The  brood  is  now  taken  from  this  cell-start- 
ing colony  and  given  to  another  colony.  The 
object  of  removing  the  brood  is  to  relieve  the 
nurse  bees  from  brood  rearing  and  to  center  all 
their  attention  on  the  rearing  of  queens.  The 
beekeeper  then  takes  a  supply  of  the  artificial 
cells  which  are  attached  in  rows  to  an  empty 
frame  (Fig.  15).  In  each  cell  a  small  drop 
of  royal  jelly  taken  from  the  naturally  built 
cell  is  placed.  With  a  small  instrument  made 
for  the  purpose,  a  newly  hatched  larva  is  re- 
moved from  a  worker  cell  and  placed  in  each 
of  the  artificial  cell  cups.  The  larva  should 
not  be  more  than  twentv-four  hours  old.  and 


128  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

some  of  the  best  breeders  advise  the  use  of 
larvse  not  to  exceed  twelve  hours  old.  The 
frame  is  then  placed  in  the  iniddle  of  the  hive 


"m 


Fig.   15. — Queen  cells  produced  by  the  cell  cup  method. 

occupied  by  the  queenless  and  broodless  col- 
ony. A  large  part  of  the  cells  should  be 
accepted  and  within  twenty-four  hours  should 
be  well  built  up.    The  cell-starting  colony  will 


BREEDING  BETTER  BEES 


129 


not  be  permitted  to  finish  the  cells,  but  they  are 
taken  away  and  placed  in  the  middle  of  another 
hive  which  occupies  two  stories,  with  the  queen 
in  the  lower  story  and  an  excluder  between  to 


Fig.  16. — The  queen  excluder  prevents  the  queen  from  passing  into 
the  super.  The  workers  being  smaller  readily  pass  through  the 
openings. 

keep  her  from  going  above  and  destroying  the 
cells  which  are  placed  in  the  upper  story  (Fig. 
16) .  The  first  colony  is  then  given  another  lot 
of  cells  to  start.  Only  strong  colonies  should 
be  used  for  cell  starting  or  finishing,  since  the 
best  queens  are  not  produced  in  small  colonies. 
Latek  Treatment. — A^Tiile  the  worker 
bees  require  twenty-one  days  for  development 


130  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

from  the  time  the  egg  is.  laid,  as  described  in 
Chapter  III,  the  queen  completes  her  growth 
in  only  sixteen  days.  On  the  eleventh  day  after 
the  young  larvse  are  placed  in  the  cells  the 
queens  will  be  nearly  ready  to  emerge  and  it 
will  be  necessary  to  remove  the  ripe  cells  from 
the  finishing  colony.  If  they  are  to  be  used  to 
requeen  an  apiary  at  once,  the  simplest  way  is 
to  place  one  in  each  colony  to  be  requeened, 
twelve  hours  after  the  old  queens  are  removed. 
If  they  are  to  be  kept  for  a  time,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  provide  nuclei  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting them  mated.  Fig.  17  shows  a  very 
satisfactory  one  for  this  purpose.  An  ordinary 
hive  has  been  divided  into  three  separate  com- 
partments with  the  entrance  to  the  middle  one 
at  one  end,  and  an  opening  at  each  side  for  the 
outside  ones.  By  this  plan  one  hive  serves  for 
three  and  the  bees  are  not  able  to  pass  from 
one  apartment  to  another.  In  each,  two  frames 
of  brood  and  bees  are  placed,  without  queens. 


BREEDING  BETTER  BEES 


131 


of  course,  and  each  is  given  one  of  the  ripe  cells. 
Usually  the  young  queen  will  be  mated  and 
laying  within  two  or  three  weeks  from  the  time 


Fig.  17. — Hive  divided  into  three  compartments  for  mating  queens. 

the  cell  is  given.  If  the  beekeeper  wishes  to 
mate  a  large  number  of  queens  and  has  a  lim- 
ited supply  of  bees,  he  can  get  along  very  well 
by  placing  one  frame  of  brood  and  bees  in  each 


132  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

nucleus  and  also  giving  an  additional  frame 
with  some  honey.  The  newly  mated  queen  will 
soon  begin  to  lay  and  the  little  colonies  will 
gradually  grow  stronger  if  conditions  are  fav- 
orable. In  this  way  one  strong  colony  broken 
up  into  nuclei  will  furnish  sufficient  bees  to 
care  for  six  or  eight  queens. 

Extensive  queen  breeders  break  up  large 
numbers  of  colonies  in  spring  to  enable  them 
to  rear  enough  queens  to  supply  their  trade 
during  the  summer  months,  and  they  are  again 
united  in  fall  and  wintered  as  full  colonies. 
One  firm  was  using  fifteen  hundred  such  nuclei 
at  the  time  of  the  writer's  visit  and  were  send- 
ing out  nearly  ten  thousand  queens  that  season. 

"  Practical  Queen  Rearing,"  by  the  author 
of  this  book,  gives  an  exhaustive  account  of  the 
various  methods  of  rearing  queen  bees  both  for 
home  use  and  for  commercial  purposes. 


CHAPTER  XI 

GETTING  THE   HOXEY   TO   MARKET 

Ix  most  cases  the  beginner  will  find  his  local 
market  the  best  place  to  sell  his  crop.  It  is 
usually  possible  to  develop  a  local  market  for 
a  small  crop  at  much  better  prices  than  could 
be  realized  by  selling  through  commission 
merchants  in  a  large  city.  The  man  who  sells 
at  home  is  able  to  get  retail  prices  for  much  of 
his  product  and  to  save  the  amount  that  would 
otherwise  be  consumed  in  freights  and  com- 
missions. The  man  or  woman  who  expects  to 
follow  beekeeping  as  a  business  will  make  a 
great  mistake  if  he  fails  to  ask  a  good  price 
for  his  product  in  the  beginning.  Too  many 
are  wdlling  to  sell  their  honey  at  retail,  at  the 
wholesale  prices.  This  is  a  serious  injury  to 
the  market  and  always  tends  to  depress  the 
prices.     If  one  never  expects  to  have  much 

133 


134  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

honey  to  sell  he  should  still  have  some  regard 
for  the  rights  of  others  and  sell  at  a  reasonable 
price.  If  one  has  anything  to  give  away  he 
may  well  do  so,  but  should  not  injure  his  neigh- 
bor who  depends  upon  honey  production  for 
a  livelihood  by  cutting  prices.  Production  of  a 
commodity  is  one  thing  and  selling  it  is  quite 
another.  If  the  producer  chooses  to  market 
his  product  at  retail  he  should  get  paid  for  the 
selling  as  well  as  the  production  of  his  crop. 

Reaching  the  Distant  Market. — On 
one  occasion  the  writer  made  a  journey  to 
Chicago  to  see  what  could  be  learned  about  the 
marketing  of  honey  through  the  large  whole- 
sale centers  and  also  something  of  the  best  re- 
tail trade  in  a  large  city. 

In  order  to  learn  as  much  as  possible  about 
conditions  an  effort  was  made  to  follow  the 
honey  from  the  producer  to  the  consumer. 
This  involved  a  study  of  the  conditions  of  trans- 
portation by  freight  or  express,  a  visit  to  the 


GETTING  THE  HONEY  TO  ^L\RKET    135 

wholesale  district  and  to  the  retail  stores  which 
serve  the  best  trade. 

One  point  that  soon  became  very  apparent 
was  that  of  the  hundreds  of  commission  firms 
on  South  Water  Street  only  a  few  handle 
honey  at  all.  There  were  hundreds  of  crates 
of  cabbages,  celery,  sweet  potatoes,  oranges, 
apples,  and  other  staple  products  to  one  case 
of  honey.  It  did  not  take  the  writer  fifteen 
minutes  to  decide  that  the  trouble  was  not  due 
to  over-production. 

After  talking  to  a  number  of  commission 
merchants  who  do  not  handle  it  at  all  as  well  as 
those  who  do,  it  began  to  look  like  the  trouble 
was  of  quite  a  different  kind.  It  looks  very 
much  to  the  writer  like  it  is  improper  distribu- 
tion and  lack  of  incentive  for  the  merchants  to 
push  our  product.  A  merchant  dishkes  to 
estabhsh  a  trade  for  a  product  which  he  is  un- 
able to  supply.  If  even  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
commission    merchants    should    undertake    to 


136  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

establish  a  trade  in  honey  and  should  succeed 
to  the  extent  that  a  few  have  done  the  supply 
would  not  last  one-third  the  year.  If  a  man 
orders  honey  from  his  grocer  and  is  unable  to 
get  it,  maple  syrup  or  corn  syrup  will  take  its 
place  and  the  next  order  wdll  be  for  the 
substitute. 

Some  beekeepers  are  forever  talking  about 
overproduction  and  lack  of  demand.  When 
corn  flakes  first  appeared  on  the  market  there 
was  no  demand  but  the  manufacturers  pro- 
ceeded to  create  a  demand  by  extensive  adver- 
tising and  to  fix  the  price  at  a  point  which 
would  pay  for  their  product  and  pay  for  the 
advertising  in  addition. 

Competition  is  very  keen,  especially  in  the 
large  market  centers.  One  firm  visited,  han- 
dled three  million  dollars'  worth  of  produce 
that  year.  This  amount  would  make  a  pretty 
big  hole  in  the  honey  crop  for  one  season. 

As  it  now  stands  there  is  no  effort  to  supply 


GETTING  THE  HONEY  TO  MARKET    137 

honey  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  The  crop  is 
moved  as  quickly  as  possible  after  it  is  har- 
vested with  the  result  that  the  market  is  either 
crowded  with  honey  or  bare.  A  dealer  who 
would  build  up  a  trade  must  depend  upon 
buying  large  quantities  long  in  advance  and 
anticipate  the  demand  of  his  trade  for  several 
months.  The  honey  producers  seem  to  be  in 
about  the  same  condition  that  the  orange 
growers  were  in  1895  before  they  perfected 
their  marketing  organizations. 

Why  Freight  Rates  are  High. — To  get 
back  to  the  beginning,  the  first  thing  that  con- 
fronts the  honey  producer  who  would  send  his 
honey  to  market  is  the  matter  of  high  freight 
rates.  Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  pack- 
ing honey  for  shipment,  not  only  to  guard 
against  damage  in  shipment  but  also  to  keep 
the  number  of  broken  packages  do\\ai  to  the 
point  which  will  enable  the  railroad  to  carry 
honey  at  a  low  rate  and  still  make  a  profit.    Too 


138  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

many  beekeepers  take  the  attitude  that  it  mat- 
ters very  httle,  for  in  case  the  shipment  is 
damaged  in  transit  the  raih^oad  company  will 
pay  for  it  anyway.  This  is  a  mistaken  \dew- 
point.  Claims  for  damages  are  a  part  of  the 
regular  expense  account  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany and  when  the  damages  absorb  too  large  a 
part  of  the  profits  the  rate  is  raised  accordingly. 
It  is  not  only  the  damage  to  the  honey  which 
results  in  a  loss  to  the  railroad  but  the  damage 
to  other  goods  which  may  happen  to  be  in  the 
same  car  with  the  broken  package.  As  an  ex- 
ample may  be  cited  a  case  where  a  broken  pack- 
age of  honey  damaged  a  shipment  of  silk.  The 
raih'oad  had  to  pay  for  both  the  honey  and  the 
silk,  the  latter,  of  course,  worth  many  times  the 
value  of  the  honey.  In  many  cases  the  damage 
from  broken  packages  could  be  avoided  if  the 
producer  would  use  sufficient  care  in  preparing 
his  shipment.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  in  the  end 
the  entire  loss  must  be  borne  by  the  honey  pro- 


GETTING  THE  HONEY  TO  MARKET    139 

ducer.  The  careful  ship]3er  must  divide  the 
expense  with  the  careless  one,  since  the  freight 
rate  is  made  high  enough  to  cover  all  such  losses 
in  addition  to  the  operating  expenses  of  the 
railroad. 

The  writer  was  for  a  time  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law  and  never  during  the  years 
when  his  time  was  so  occupied  did  he  find  any 
difficulty  in  getting  a  fair  settlement  for  a  client 
for  loss  or  damage  in  shipment  by  freight. 
Some  railroads  are  much  more  prompt  in  pay- 
ment than  others,  but  all  with  whom  we  had 
any  deahngs  seemed  entirely  willing  to  make 
good  any  loss  for  which  they  were  responsible. 
There  was  never  any  necessity  to  start  suit  on 
cases  of  this  kind,  for  once  proper  proof  of  loss 
was  presented  settlement  was  secured  without 
difficulty.  The  attitude  of  the  railroads  seemed 
fair  enough  and  if  it  were  possible  for  them  to 
get  into  touch  with  the  shippers  and  make  clear 
the  difficulties  under  which  thev  work  there 


140  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

would  be  much  less  friction  because  of  high 
freight  rates. 

If  the  beekeepers  desire  to  reduce  freight 
rates,  the  first  move  to  make  is  to  educate  the 
shipper  to  use  more  care  in  packing  for  ship- 
ment and  thus  reduce  the  amount  of  damage. 
If  the  careless  man  can  be  kept  from  shipping 
improperly  crated  honey  there  will  be  no  diffi- 
culty in  getting  a  reduction  of  freight  rates  on 
this  commodity.  Until  then  all  honey  shippers 
must  contribute  something  to  pay  the  losses. 

Value  of  Attractive  Packages. — A\Tien 
a  man  goes  into  the  large  markets  and  sees  the 
large  variety  of  products  that  are  offered,  he 
at  once  learns  that  in  order  to  appeal  to  the 
consumer  any  commodity  to  be  used  for  food 
must  be  offered  in  the  most  attractive  form 
possible.  The  ^vi^iter  saw  a  very  good  example 
of  that  in  one  of  the  well-known  commission 
houses  when  a  retailer  came  in  to  make  a  pur- 
chase with  which  to  supply  his  trade.     There 


GETTING  THE  HONEY  TO  MARKET    141 

was  a  liberal  supply  of  extracted  honey  in 
sixty-pound  cans  on  the  floor  of  the  warehouse. 
He  examined  the  various  lots  with  a  good  deal 
of  care,  sampling  each  lot  two  or  three  times  to 
make  sure  that  the  quality  was  good.  The 
thing  that  impressed  the  writer,  however,  was 
not  the  care  this  man  used  in  looking  for  the 
best  flavor,  but  that  he  refused  to  sample  honey 
in  rusty  cans.  There  was  one  shipment  in  cans 
that  were  rusty  on  top  and  which  had  a  rather 
unattractive  appearance  generally.  He  sam- 
pled hone}^  only  in  bright  new  cans  that  did 
not  show  a  particle  of  rust.  When  the  writer 
asked  the  commission  man  about  the  difference 
in  price  he  was  informed  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  sell  the  honey  in  rusty  cans  at  from 
one  to  three  cents  per  pound  less.  In  spite  of 
the  difference  in  price  this  buyer  would  not 
even  look  at  it.  Probably  the  shipper  of  that 
lot  of  honey  will  blame  the  commission  mer- 
chant and  charge  him  with  stealing  a  dollar  or 


142  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

two  per  case  on  the  shipment.  It  surely  is  a 
poor  policy  to  save  fifteen  cents  by  using  a  sec- 
ond-hand can  in  which  to  ship  the  honey  to 
market  and  lose  from  sixty  cents  to  one  dollar 
and  eighty  cents  per  can  in  making  the  sale. 
If  the  writer  had  not  already  been  convinced  of 
the  value  of  new  packages  for  honey  this  ob- 
servation would  have  convinced  him. 

However,  another  example  was  in  store, 
with  comb  honey  this  time.  The  honey  was  well 
graded  and  in  new  shipping  cases,  but  seconds 
had  been  used  which  showed  dark  streaks  of 
wood  instead  of  the  clean  white  of  the  first  qual- 
ity shipping  cases.  This  was  on  the  floor  of 
another  store  so  that  the  two  examples  did  not 
occur  in  the  same  establishment.  Although 
the  honey  was  of  about  the  same  quality,  the 
more  attractive  package  sold  for  fifty  cents 
more  per  case  than  the  other.  Someone  had 
bought  inferior  cases  and  had  probably  saved 
a  few  cents  in  the  price,  but  it  cost  two  cents 


GETTING  THE  HONEY  TO  MARKET    143 

per  pound  in  the  selling  price  of  the  honey.  The 
producer  who  must  sell  in  a  distant  market 
should  insist  on  the  best  possible  quality  in 
shipping  cases,  and  before  placing  an  order  for 
supplies  should  know  that  the  quality  is  O.  K. 

In  this  establishment  the  writer  was  shown 
a  model  shipment  of  comb  honey.  The  grading 
was  remarkably  uniform,  the  sections  were  per- 
fectly cleaned  and  the  cases  as  clean  and  white 
as  one  could  wish.  This  honey  was  selling  at 
the  highest  price  the  market  would  afford. 

Attracting  the  Consumer. — After  not- 
ing the  great  advantage  that  attractive  pack- 
ages had  in  wholesale  sales  the  writer  was  more 
interested  than  ever  in  the  retail  package.  Re- 
tail stores  were  visited  in  the  best  part  of  Chi- 
cago where  the  rents  paid  for  space  would  make 
most  of  us  gasp.  These  stores  sell  to  high-class 
trade  and  they  are  as  neat  and  clean  as  a  parlor. 
The  first  one  visited  offered  "  Airline  "  honey. 
When  asked  if  they  handled  no  other  kind  they 


144  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

replied  that  they  did  not.      The  writer  then 
enquired  whether  it  was  because  the  pubhc  in- 
sisted on  "  Airhne,"  owing  to  its  advertising, 
that  they  handled  no  other.    The  reply  was  that 
it  was  because  of  the  clean  packages  in  which 
it  was  offered.    The  salesman  then  showed  the 
comb  honey  in  clean  tight  cartons,  and  the  ex- 
tracted jars  wrapped  in  oil  paper.    There  was 
no  drip  and  every  separate  section  or  jar  was 
as  nice  and  clean  as  any  other  line  which  they 
had  on  their  shelves.     The  public  asked  for 
"  Airline  "  honey  because  of  its  advertising, 
but  most  buyers  would  as  readily  accept  any 
other  if  equally  attractive.  This  dealer  handled 
"  Airline "   honey  because   it  was   clean   and 
saved  him  the  annoyance  of  dirty  packages. 
The  reason  was  clear  enough  and  w^e  went  out 
to  find  a  store  that  handled  something  else.  We 
found  it  but  a  few  doors  away  and  the  honey 
was  the  only  sticky  package  that  we  found  in 
that    store.      The   extracted   honey   packages 
were  sealed  in  the  ordinary  way  and  nearly 


GETTING  THE  HONEY  TO  IMARKET    145 

every  one  showed  a  slight  drip  down  one  side. 
This  httle  streak  of  honey  would  catch  all  the 
dust  and  thus  it  soon  became  anything  but 
attractive.  The  label  was  printed  in  only  one 
color  so  that  altogether  there  was  no  compari- 
son in  the  appearance  of  the  brands.  Had  the 
writer  been  in  search  of  honey  for  his  own  table 
it  is  easy  to  guess  which  he  would  buy  if  he 
knew  nothing  of  either  producer.  Further- 
more, he  left  the  store  with  the  feeling  that  he 
had  learned  some  lessons  which  he  could  utihze 
to  good  advantage  in  marketing  his  own  honey 
crop.  One  does  not  have  to  look  far  to  see  that 
money  spent  in  putting  up  our  product  in  the 
most  attractive  package  will  come  back  several 
times  over  when  we  sell  the  crop. 

Package  Must  Fit  the  Trade.— This 
brings  us  to  another  consideration;  the  kind  of 
package  in  which  to  ship.  This  depends  alto- 
gether on  the  trade  to  which  the  honey  is  to  be 
sold.  If  to  a  buyer  who  will  sell  it  again  under 
his  own  trade  name  it  should  have  no  mark  of 


10 


146  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

any  kind  excepting  the  net  weight  which  the 
law  requires.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be 
sold  through  some  regular  channel  which  rec- 
ognizes the  producer's  trade-mark  as  an  asset 
it  should  be  labelled  with  the  producer's  own 
mark.  In  one  warehouse  there  was  a  big  pile  of 
shipping  cases  marked  "  J.  E.  Crane  &  Son, 
Middlebury,  Vt."  One  of  the  cases  was  opened 
and  some  of  the  sections  removed.  They  were 
very  nice  and  each  was  wrapped  in  a  clean 
carton  with  the  Crane  name  and  the  usual 
printed  matter.  The  dealer  remarked  that  he 
had  been  handling  Crane  honey  for  nearly 
thirty  years.  In  this  case  the  honey  was  known 
to  the  buyer  and  the  name  was  a  guarantee  of 
quality.  But  a  few  weeks  before  the  writer 
had  asked  for  honey  in  the  Boston  market  and 
had  been  shown  a  jar  of  extracted  honey  with 
the  Crane  label.  There  is  no  question  but  that 
it  is  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  seller  to 
market  his  best  product  under  his  own  trade 
name  when  he  can  do  so.     However,  it  often 


GETTING  THE  HONEY  TO  :VL\RKET    147 

happens  that  when  he  goes  into  a  strange  mar- 
ket the  only  buyers  who  will  present  themselves 
will  be  those  who  buy  to  sell  again  under  their 
own  name  and  such  would  not  buy  honey  with 
the  individual  trade-mark.  It  is  well  to  corre- 
spond with  the  commission  merchant  with 
whom  one  expects  to  deal  and  learn  something 
of  the  market  requirements.  Some  of  the 
largest  sellers  of  honey  in  the  Middle  West 
have  a  trade  which  they  supply  with  comb 
honey  in  their  own  cartons  and  with  each  case 
they  send  a  placard  for  advertising  purposes. 
This  trade  has  come  to  look  for  the  brand. 
Honey  sold  to  this  trade  is  placed  in  the  cartons 
and  repacked  after  it  reaches  their  warehouse. 
Of  course,  not  all  of  the  honey  that  passes 
through  their  hands  is  handled  in  this  manner. 
General  Requirements. — The  writer 
interviewed  a  number  of  dealers  both  whole- 
sale and  retail.  AMien  asked  for  some  general 
ad\'ice  to  the  honey  seller  they  agreed  on  the 
following : 


148  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

Sell  through  a  firm  that  specializes  in 
honey,  for  such  a  firm  can  get  a  better  price. 
Be  very  careful  about  grading  and  packing  and 
use  corrugated  paper  Hning  for  the  shipping 
cases  to  catch  drip.  All  agreed  that  in  general 
comb  honey  sells  better  in  bright  wood  ship- 
ping case  with  glass,  than  in  corrugated  paper 
cases,  and  usually  arrives  in  better  condition. 

The  railroad  claim  agents  gave  the  follow- 
ing advice  in  regard  to  shipping:  Use  only 
factory-made  shipping  cases  and  load  the 
honey  so  that  the  combs  will  be  parallel  with 
the  rails.  This  will  place  the  shock  of  shipment 
on  the  edges  instead  of  face  of  combs.  Use 
cement-coated  nails  since  they  hold  better,  and 
use  cushioned  carriers.  Stencil  name  and  ad- 
dress on  the  package  instead  of  using  a  ship- 
ping tag  put  on  with  tacks.  Tags  often  get 
rubbed  off  and  the  shipment  goes  astray  while 
the  stenciled  address  cannot  be  lost.  Also  avoid 
as  far  as  possible  the  shipment  of  comb  honey 
in  cold  weather. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ENEMIES  AND  DISEASES  OF  BEES 

There  seems  to  be  no  agricultural  pursuit 
free  from  the  disorders  common  to  life  in  gen- 
eral. While  many  localities  are  free  from  dis- 
ease, the  beekeeper  may  have  reason  to  expect 
its  appearance  sooner  or  later.  AAHiile  in  trop- 
ical regions  of  many  countries  there  are  many 
enemies  of  the  bees  which  may  destroy  whole 
apiaries,  the  temperate  regions  of  the  United 
States  are  free  from  serious  danger  on  this 
score.'  The  waxmoth  is  widely  distributed  and 
among  amateurs  generally  feared.  While  it 
may  destroy  the  combs  of  weak  colonies,  the 
waxmoth  will  not  injure  strong  colonies, 
nor  is  there  any  animal  known  to  the  writer 
whose  presence  may  endanger  the  success 
of  his  business. 

Mice   frequenth^  cause   injury  in  winter 

149 


150  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

where  the  entrances  of  the  hives  are  left  wide 
open.  All  entrances  should  be  contracted  to 
not  exceed  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  height 
during  the  winter  months  to  prevent  the  en- 
trance of  mice.  These  little  animals  also  often 
damage  combs  that  are  stored  in  outbuildings 
or  other  situations  within  their  reach.  All  un- 
used combs  should  be  protected  from  both  mice 
and  moths. 

Skunks  occasionally  become  troublesome 
by  scratching  at  the  entrance  of  a  hive  and  de- 
vouring the  bees  as  they  rush  out.  Since  they 
return  to  the  same  hive  night  after  night,  it  is 
not  usually  difficult  to  catch  the  offender  with 
a  steel  trap. 

Waxmoths  are  the  source  of  great  anxiety 
to  most  beginners.  As  soon  as  a  colony  is  lost 
from  any  cause,  the  moths  will  enter  the  hive 
and  deposit  their  eggs.  The  larvas  burrow 
through  the  combs  and  soon  destroy  them.  If 
a  colony  becomes  weakened  the  moths  are  quite 


ENEMIES  AND  DISEASES  OF  BEES     151 

likely  to  destroy  the  combs,  and  thus  hasten  the 
end.  However,  the  presence  of  moths  may  be 
regarded  as  a  sign  that  all  is  not  right,  at  least 
with  the  colony  affected.  If  disease  is  present 
in  the  apiary,  the  colonies  that  become  weak- 
ened by  its  ravages  will  fall  easy  victims  to  the 
moths.  Queenless  colonies  or  those  whose  con- 
dition is  not  normal  from  any  reason,  are  the 
ones  to  be  affected.  Strong  colonies  easily  de- 
fend themselves  against  the  pest,  so  that  the 
beekeeper  who  keeps  close  watch  and  knows 
that  his  bees  are  in  good  condition,  seldom  has 
any  anxiety  on  account  of  waxmoths. 

Diseases  of  Bees.— There  are  several  dif- 
ferent diseases  known  to  affect  the  honeybee. 
The  diseases  of  the  adult  bees  are  not  well 
understood  as  yet.  It  is  not  definitely  known 
how  many  there  are,  or  what  the  cause  may  be, 
but  it  is  quite  probable  that  there  are  several 
distinct  diseases  of  the  adult  bees. 

Paralysis  is  the  name  by  which  we  most 
often  hear  of  disease  of  the  mature  bees.     It 


152  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

usually  appears  in  spring.  The  affected  bees 
appear  black  and  shiny  and  they  may  be  seen 
in  front  of  the  hive  apparently  unable  to  fly. 
At  times  the  abdomen  is  distended.  Bees  also 
sometimes  suffer  from  dysentery,  which  is 
probably  caused  by  poor  stores  or  too  long  con- 
finement to  the  hive. 

FouLBROOD,  of  which  there  are  two  kinds, 
is  the  most  serious  disease  with  which  the  bee- 
keeper has  to  contend  in  America.  However, 
both  forms  are  now  so  well  understood  that  the 
well-informed  beekeeper  no  longer  fears  them 
as  he  once  did. 

Both  American  and  European  foulbrood 
are  diseases  of  the  larvse,  and  although  they 
have  well-defined  differences,  the  novice  would 
seldom  be  able  to  distinguish  between  them.  If 
the  brood  is  foimd  to  be  dead  without  some  ap- 
parent cause,  it  will  be  well  for  the  beekeeper 
to  cut  out  a  piece  of  the  comb  containing  some 
of  the  dead  larvae  and  send  it  to  the  Bureau  of 
Entomology  of  the  United  States  Department 


ENEMIES  AND  DISEASES  OF  BEES     153 

of  Agriculture,  at  Washington,  D.  C.  Such 
samples  will  be  examined  by  an  expert  and  the 
beekeeper  informed  as  to  the  nature  of  his 
trouble  without  expense  to  him.  It  is  impor- 
tant that  the  particular  disease  which  may  be 
present  be  early  determined,  as  the  kind  of 
treatment  necessary  will  depend  upon  which 
disease  is  present.  In  the  case  of  American 
foulbrood  it  will  be  necessary  to  remove  the 
bees  to  a  clean  hive  and  deprive  them  of  all 
their  brood  and  honey.  The  contamination 
seems  to  be  spread  in  the  honey  with  this  dis- 
ease. If  the  disease  is  European  foulbrood  it 
will  be  necessary  to  check  brood  rearing  for  a 
time,  and  to  requeen  with  a  resistant  strain, 
preferably  Italian. 

Sacbrood  is  a  disease  somewhat  resembling 
those  just  described.  It  is  milder  in  form  and 
frequently  disappears  of  itself  during  a  honey 
flow.  The  author  usually  requeens  colonies 
found  to  be  affected  with  this  disease  and  this 
is  usually  sufficient. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

WINTER  PREPARATION 

The  novice  who  plans  to  keep  but  a  few 
bees  will  do  well  to  buy  some  of  the  double- 
walled  hives  now  on  the  market,  and  thus  re- 
duce his  winter  preparation  to  the  minimum. 
The  ordinary  single-walled  hive  provides  in- 
sufficient protection  in  any  of  the  Northern 
States  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  bees 
would  be  better  for  some  extra  protection  in 
most  of  the  Southern  States.  With  the  double- 
walled  hive  it  is  but  a  matter  of  a  few  minutes 
at  the  time  of  the  last  summer  examination,  to 
put  the  chaff  tray  in  place  over  the  frames, 
contract  the  entrance  with  the  entrance  blocks, 
replace  the  cover,  and  the  job  is  done.  No  fur- 
ther attention  needs  to  be  paid  to  them,  except 
to  see  that  the  entrances  do  not  get  clogged  with 
ice  during  winter  storms,  until  time  to  make  the 
spring  examination.     In  cold  climates  addi- 
tional protection  should  be  given, 

154 


WINTER  PREPARATION  155 

Prelimixaky  Preparation  for  Winter. 
— After  the  close  of  the  honey  flow  the  bees 
should  be  prepared  for  winter  as  early  as  pos- 
sible, to  avoid  distui^bing  the  colony  after  the 
normal  activities  of  summer  have  ceased.  Care 
must  be  taken  to  insure  plenty  of  honey  to  last 
the  bees  through  the  long  months  when  no 
honey  comes  to  the  hive.  In  the  Northern 
States  it  is  seldom  safe  to  depend  upon  less  than 
thirty  pounds,  and  the  author  prefers  forty  to 
fifty  pounds  of  sealed  stores.  This  lar^e 
amount  will  insure  a  sufficient  supply  for  early 
brood  rearing  and  will  carry  the  colony  safely 
through  an  unfavorable  spring.  The  quahty 
of  the  stores  is  important,  especially  in  the 
North,  where  long  periods  of  time  elapse  when 
the  bees  are  unable  to  leave  the  hive  to  get  a 
cleansing  flight.  The  bees  relieve  themselves  of 
the  accumulated  excrement  only  while  on  the 
wing,  under  normal  conditions.  If  the  stores 
be  of  poor  qiiahty,  such  as  honeydew  or  im- 


156  BEGEsNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

properly  ripened  honey,  the  long  confinement 
is  very  hard  on  them  and  they  often  become 
affected  with  dysentery,  soiling  their  combs  and 
putting  the  hive  in  a  filthy  condition. 

Large  clusters  of  young  bees  are  also  essen- 
tial to  successful  wintering  by  any  method.  If 
the  hive  is  full  of  old  bees  that  have  gathered 
the  fall  harvest,  they  will  die  before  spring  and 
the  colony  will  perish.  If  the  honey  flow  con- 
tinues late,  plenty  of  young  bees  will  emerge 
late  in  the  season  to  put  the  colony  in  prime 
condition  for  wintering.  Old  and  failing 
queens  will  often  fail  to  continue  laying  during 
the  late  summer  and  the  colony  will  become 
greatly  weakened,  if  it  does  not  die  before 
spring.  Colonies  known  to  have  young  queens 
will  usually  be  in  good  condition  unless  there 
is  a  dearth  of  nectar  dm^ing  the  fall  months. 
At  such  times  it  is  often  necessarj^  to  feed 
lightly  for  a  few  days  to  stimulate  brood  rear- 


WINTER  PREPARATION  157 

ing,  preparing  the  colony  to  go  into  winter 
quarters  in  proper  condition. 

Given  the  above  described  conditions, 
young  queens,  plenty  of  good  stores,  and  a  large 
cluster  of  young  bees,  a  colony  will  stand  a 
surprising  amount  of  cold  weather  and  come 
through  in  fine  shape. 

Protectiox  for  Winter. — As  to  whether 
outdoor  or  cellar  wintering  is  best  is  not  a  mat- 
ter of  agi'eement  among  beekeepers.  Both 
methods  are  generally  practiced  and  there  are 
those  who  feel  very  sure  that  one  is  best  while 
others  are  equally  sure  the  other  will  bring  bet- 
ter results.  Bees  can  be  safely  wintered  by 
either  method  if  proper  attention  is  given  to 
see  that  conditions  are  right.  As  stated  at  the 
beginning  of  the  chapter,  the  writer  would  rec- 
ommend double-walled  hives,  under  ordinary 
conditions,  to  the  person  who  has  but  a  few  col- 
onies to  care  for.  They  would  hardly  be  suf- 
ficient protection  for  the  extreme  north,  but 


158  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

for  most  of  the  United  States  they  will  bring 
very  good  results  if  other  conditions  are  right. 
Additional  packing  can  be  given  where  needed. 

Cellar  wintering  has  its  advantages. 
The  cellar  should  be  dry  and  of  a  uniform  tem- 
perature. A  cellar  that  is  warm  during  mild 
weather  and  cold  when  the  thermometer  drops, 
should  never  be  used  for  the  bees.  The  cellar 
should  also  be  dark,  as  the  bees  will  get  restless 
in  a  cellar  which  is  sufficiently  warm,  if  the 
light  enters  during  the  day.  For  best  results 
the  temperature  should  not  drop  below  forty 
degrees,  and  most  of  the  time  should  stand 
about  fifty  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

The  bees  should  be  placed  in  the  cellar  as 
soon  as  settled  cold  weather  begins,  and  left 
there  until  danger  of  severe  weather  is  past  in 
spring.  It  is  better  to  take  them  in  a  little 
early  and  to  remove  them  a  little  late  than  to 
err  in  the  other  direction. 

Packing  Outside. — Various  plans  of  pro- 


WINTER  PREPARATION  159 

viding  extra  protection  to  the  hives  on  their 
summer  stands  have  been  used.  The  best  plan 
is  to  use  some  kind  of  packing  box  outside  the 
hive  and  fill  the  space  between  the  hive  and  the 
box  with  leaves,  planer  shavings  or  some  sim- 
liar  material.  Allien  bees  are  packed  in  this 
manner  provision  must  be  made  to  leave  the 
hive  entrance  open  so  that  the  bees  can  fly  out 
on  warm  days  and  return  again  to  the  hive. 

If  but  a  few  hives  are  to  be  packed  it  is  an 
easy  matter  to  make  such  cases  of  goods  boxes. 
If  the  beekeeper  plans  to  operate  extensively, 
special  packing  cases  should  be  made  that  are 
of  imiform  size.  The  most  widely  used  pack- 
ing case  holds  four  colonies  with  two  facing 
east  and  two  to  the  west.  F.  W.  Krouse  of 
Ontario  is  an  extensive  beekeeper  who  has  a 
separate  packing  case  for  each  colony,  and 
leaves  them  in  place  the  year  round.  This  gives 
ample  protection  against  the  changing  weather 
of  spring  and  fall,  as  well  as  winter. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

REVIEAV  OF  THE  SEASON 's  WORK 

It  is  difficult  in  a  book  of  this  kind  which 
must  be  adapted  to  aU  parts  of  America  to  give 
a  detailed  chart  for  the  operations  necessary  at 
different  seasons  of  the  year.  The  time  of  the 
principal  honey  flow  varies  so  much  in  different 
locahties  that  no  time  can  be  set  for  any  opera- 
tion. The  whole  year's  work  is  planned  with 
the  one  object  in  view  of  bringing  the  colony 
to  the  beginning  of  the  main  flow  with  as  many 
bees  as  possible.  The  big  colonies  gather  the 
big  crops,  and  the  beekeeper  carries  his  work 
through  the  year  so  as  to  bring  the  colony  to 
maximum  strength  at  this  time. 

^Miether  the  beekeeper  hves  in  Maine  or 
Cahfornia,  there  are  certain  essentials  which 
must  be  considered.  One  of  these  is  to  supply 
the  bees  with  sufficient  stores  at  the  close  of 

160 


REVIEW  OF  THE  SEASON'S  WORK      161 

the  season  to  cany  them  through  the  winter 
months  and  to  furnisii  a  reserve  for  building  up 
the  following  spring.  If  the  bees  must  depend 
upon  stores  gathered  from  the  field  at  this  un- 
certain season  much  of  the  productive  possi- 
bility of  the  colony  is  likely  to  be  lost.  It  is  only 
in  the  presence  of  a  hberal  reserve  of  food 
within  the  hive  that  the  queen  is  likely  to  lay  to 
her  capacity  in  the  cool  and  catchy  weather  of 
early  spring.  Especially  is  this  true  when  httle 
nectar  is  coming  from  the  iields 

Accordingly,  when  the  bees  are  removed 
from  winter  quarters,  the  first  thing  necessary 
is  to  make  sm-e  that  an  abundance  of  stores  are 
still  present  to  enable  the  bees  to  build  up  rap- 
idly. It  takes  a  liberal  supply  of  honey  to  rear 
the  amount  of  brood  necessary  to  make  a  strong 
colony,  and  one  of  the  first  essentials  of  good 
beekeeping  Mes  in  never  allowing  the  colony  to 
become  short  of  stores. 

At  the  first  examination,  the  general  condi- 
11 


162  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

tion  of  the  colony  should  be  noted.  Not  only 
should  the  beekeeper  make  sure  that  the  supply 
of  stores  is  sufficient,  but  he  should  ascertain 
whether  or  not  a  queen  is  present  and  in  good 
condition.  It  sometimes  happens  that  some 
colonies  will  be  verj^  weak  at  this  season  of  the 
year,  and,  unless  given  some  help,  will  be  lost. 
Such  weaklings  may  be  helped  by  giving  them 
a  frame  of  sealed  brood  from  a  strong  colony. 
It  is  unwise  to  give  very  weak  colonies  unsealed 
brood,  since  they  are  unable  to  care  for  it  prop- 
erly. If  the  cluster  is  too  small,  it  is  often  bet- 
ter to  unite  them  with  some  other  colony  than 
to  try  to  build  them  up.  Very  weak  colonies 
can  sometimes  be  saved  by  removing  the  cover 
from  the  hive  containing  a  strong  colony  and 
in  its  place  covering  the  hive  with  ordinary  wire 
screen.  The  bottom  of  the  hive  containing  the 
weak  colony  is  then  removed  and  the  hive 
placed  directly  on  top  of  the  strong  one.  A 
hole  to  enable  the  bees  to  fly  from  the  upper 


REVIEW  OF  THE  SEASON'S  WORK      163 

body  should  be  made  on  the  end  opposite  the 
entrance  to  the  strong  colony.  The  bees  above 
will  get  the  advantage  of  the  heat  ascending 
from  the  strong  cluster  below,  while  there  is 
no  chance  for  the  bees  to  pass  through  the  wire 
cloth  and  thus  unite  the  two  clusters.  After 
the  bees  in  the  upper  hive  have  recovered  their 
strength  sufficiently  to  enable  them  to  care  for 
their  brood  properly,  they  may  be  set  off  again 
on  their  regular  stand. 

RoBBixG. — In  early  spring  when  there  is 
httle  to  be  had  from  the  fields  and  some 'colonies 
are  still  weak,  there  is  always  danger  of  rob- 
bing. The  bees  from  the  strong  colonies  will 
fly  around  the  openings  of  other  hives  until  they 
find  a  suitable  opportunity,  and  then  come  in 
such  numbers  as  to  overpower  the  rightful 
owners  and  carry  off  their  honey.  The  best 
prevention  is  to  contract  the  entrance  to  a  very 
small  space  so  that  but  few  bees  can  pass  at 
one  time.    All  other  cracks  should  be  tightly 


164  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

closed.  This  will  make  it  possible  for  the 
guards  to  protect  from  prying  bees  from  other 
hives.  If  robbing  once  gets  started  it  is  hkely 
to  continue  until  the  honey  is  all  removed  from 
the  hive  of  the  victims.  Such  a  condition  often 
leads  to  a  general  furore  in  the  apiary,  when 
one  hive  after  another  is  robbed  until  many 
colonies  are  ruined.  The  beekeeper  should  al- 
ways be  on  guard  against  robbing,  as  preven- 
tion is  far  better  than  cure. 

If  robbing  has  started  it  is  easy  to  determine 
the  colony  which  is  doing  the  mischief  by  drop- 
ping flour  on  the  bees  as  they  leave  the  hives 
with  their  stolen  plunder.  At  the  beginning 
there  is  likely  to  be  only  one  or  two  hives  mak- 
ing mischief.  When  the  trouble  makers  are 
located,  to  change  places  of  the  robbed  colony 
with  the  one  which  is  doing  the  robbing  will 
often  stop  the  trouble.  Both  entrances  should 
be  made  smaller  until  only  one  bee  is  able  to 
pass  at  a  time. 


REVIEW  OF  THE  SEASON'S  WORK      165 

The  beekeeper  should  never  leave  bits  of 
honey  in  the  open  where  the  bees  can  find  ac- 
cess to  it,  as  this  often  starts  robbing.  AVhen 
the  bees  find  honey  exposed  at  a  time  when  no 
nectar  is  coming  from  the  fields,  it  starts  them 
seeking  out  every  crevice  in  the  vicinity  in 
search  of  a  larger  supply,  and  much  trouble  is 
likely  to  result. 

Pkeparixg  for  the  Crop. — Aside  from 
making  sure  that  the  bees  are  in  good  condition, 
have  a  suitable  supply  of  honey  and  proper 
protection ;  there  is  not  much  to  be  done  in  early 
spring.  Supplies  should  always  be  ready  in 
advance  so  that  when  the  crop  season  arrives 
there  will  be  no  delay. 

Care  should  be  used  to  see  that  room  is 
added  as  fast  as  needed.  When  the  brood 
chamber  becomes  crowded  it  is  time  to  give 
super  room.  If,  when  the  cover  is  removed,  the 
hive  seems  to  be  overflowing  with  bees  and  the 
combs  are  being  whitened  at  the  tops  of  the 


166  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

frames,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  more  room  is 
necessary.  AATien  the  bees  are  fomid  to  be 
working  in  the  supers,  close  watch  should  be 
kept  to  make  sure  that  additional  room  is  added 
as  fast  as  the  bees  are  ready  to  occupy  it. 
Many  beekeepers  fail  to  get  a  satisfactory  crop 
simply  because  they  fail  to  provide  the  bees  a 
place  to  put  it  in  time.  During  a  good  honey 
flow  they  will  often  fill  a  super  in  a  very  few 
days  and,  under  favorable  conditions,  w\l\  often 
fill  two  to  five  supers  before  the  first  one  is 
ready  to  be  removed  from  the  hive.  The  honey 
should  be  left  with  the  bees  imtil  it  is  well 
capped  over.  If  removed  from  the  hives  before 
it  is  properly  ripened,  the  quality  is  hkely  to  be 
poor.  AMiere  the  beekeeper  waits  till  one  super 
is  filled  and  removed  before  gi^^ing  another,  he 
is  likely  to  lose  the  larger  part  of  his  crop  in  a 
good  season.  A  strong  colony  will  have  more 
bees  than  can  work  in  such  a  small  space,  and 
it  requires  some  skill  to  determine  how  mucli 
room  is  necessary  to  secure  the  maximum  \^eld, 


REVIEW  OF  THE  SEASON'S  WORK      167 

without  scattering  the  honey  too  much.  This 
is  especially  true  of  comb-honey  production. 

Removing  the  Hoxey. — When  the  supers 
are  filled  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  place  those 
which  are  to  be  removed  on  top  and  place  a 
bee's  escape  board  underneath,  between  the 
filled  super  and  the  ones  below.  In  a  few  hours 
the  bees  will  have  gone  below  and  not  being 
able  to  retm'n  the  super  can  be  removed,  free 
from  annoyance. 

Closing  the  Season. — When  the  honey 
flow  is  over,  the  surplus  honey  should  be  re- 
moved from  the  bees  as  soon  as  possible.  The 
preparations  for  winter  should  be  made  early 
in  the  fall,  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  bees  any 
later  than  necessary  after  active  operations 
are  over.  At  this  season  it  is  important  to  re- 
place any  old  and  faihng  queens  with  vigorous 
young  ones,  to  replace  the  queen  in  colonies 
where  the  stock  is  undesirable  for  any  reason, 
and  to  make  sure  that  an  abundant  supply  of 
honey  is  present  to  carry  the  bees  through  till 


168  BEGINNER'S  BEE  BOOK 

the  following  season  opens.  Many  beekeepers 
make  a  practice  of  leaving  a  super  of  extract- 
ing combs  on  the  hive  for  a  reserve  supj^ly,  in 
addition  to  the  honey  in  the  brood  nest. 

l^Hiere  the  bees  are  wintered  outside,  the 
necessary  packing  should  be  done  early.  It  is 
better  to  pack  late  than  not  to  pack  at  all,  but 
there  is  a  decided  advantage  in  favor  of  finish- 
ing the  winter  preparations  as  soon  as  con- 
venient after  the  nights  begin  to  be  frosty. 

All  of  the  beekeeper's  activities  center  in 
the  queens  which  head  his  colonies.  Without 
good  queens  no  matter  how  careful  the  man- 
agement there  can  be  no  satisfactory  degree  of 
success.  Given  Wgorous  young  queens,  the 
other  essentials  are  not  many.  Mr.  George 
Demuth  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture sums  up  as  follows :  stores,  room  and  pro- 
tection. Given  plenty  of  stores,  an  abundance 
of  room  for  colony  activities  at  the  proper  time, 
and  suitable  protection,  success  is  assured. 


GLOSSARY 


Absconding.  A  term  com- 
monly used  where  swarms 
are  lost  through  their  de- 
parture for  parts  unknown. 

Adair  Hive.  A  hive  formerly 
popular  in  some  localities  but 
now  almost  gone  out  of  use. 
The  frames  were  13^  inches 
long  and   llM  inches  deep. 

Afterswarm.  A  small  swarm 
issuing  after  the  first  or 
prime  swarm.  Where  bees 
are  not  given  proper  atten- 
tion it  is  not  uncommon  for 
them  to  send  out  several 
afterswarms,  one  after  an- 
other until  the  parent  col- 
ony becomes  almost  worth- 
less. 

American  Hive.  A  hive  once 
common  but  now  seldom 
seen.  The  frames  were  12 
inches  square. 

Apiary.  A  place  where  bees 
are  kept.  As  generally  used 
the  term  includes  bees, 
hives  and  other  equipment 
together  with  the  situation. 

Apiculture.  The  pursuit  of 
beekeeping. 

Baby  Nucleus.  A  small  col- 
ony of  bees  for  the  purpose 
of  mating  queens.  Queen 
breeders  often  break  up 
colonies  into  small  parts, 
placing  a  pint  or  so  of  bees 
into  each  small  hive.  To 
each  is  given  a  ripe  queen  cell. 


Balling  Queens.  When  a 
strange  queen  is  introduced 
to  a  colony  or  when  some 
abnormal  condition  incites 
the  bees  to  mistrust  their 
own  queen,  they  often  clus- 
ter about  her  in  a  dense  ball, 
thus  smothering  her. 

Beebread.  A  term  commonly 
used  for  pollen  stored  in  the 
cells  within  the  hive. 

Bait  Sections.  Comb  honey 
sections  in  which  comb  left 
over  from  a  former  season 
has  been  built.  These  are 
placed  in  the  supers  along 
with  those  filled  with  foun- 
dation to  induce  the  bees  to 
begin  work  in  the  super 
more  readily. 

Banat  Bees.  \  dark  race  of 
bees  coming  from  Hungary. 

Bar  Hive.  A  hive  with  bars 
instead  of  frames.  These 
hives  are  commonly  used  in 
Europe  but  seldom  found  in 
America. 

Bee-escape.  A  contrivance 
which  enables  the  bees  to 
leave  a  compartment  of  the 
hive  but  prevents  their 
return. 

Bee  Gum.  A  name  commonly 
given  to  a  hive  made  from  a 
portion  of  a  hollow  tree.  In 
the  South,  gum  trees  are 
commonly  hollow  and  these 
are  so  often  used  for  hiving 
swarms,   that  the  term  has 


170 


GLOSSARY 


come  to  apply  to  any  kind  of 
box  or  hive  in  which  bees 
are  kept. 

Bee  Martin.  The  common 
Kingbird,  ( Tyrannus  tyran- 
nus). 

Beemoth.  The  waxwonn.  The 
adult  is  a  small  grey  moth 
which  lays  its  eggs  in  or 
about  the  hive.  The  young 
larvae  burrow  in  the  combs, 
feeding  on  the  wax  and 
p>ollen,  and  in  time  destroy 
the    combs    unless   checked. 

Beepasture.  Sources  of  nec- 
tar. The  flowering  plants  on 
which  bees  feed. 

Beespace.  A  space  large 
enough  to  permit  the  free 
passage  of  the  bees,  but  not 
large  enough  to  permit  the 
building  of  the  comb.  About 
yi  inch. 

Black  Bees.  The  common  bees 
of  Europe.   The  German  Bee. 

Bottom-board.  The  floor  of 
the  hive. 

Box-hive.  A  hive  without 
frames.  A  box  in  which  bees 
are  hived. 

Brood.  The  young  bees  in  the 
larval  stage. 

Brood-chamber.  The  lower 
portion  of  main  body  of  the 
hive.  The  part  containing 
the  brood  nest. 

Brood-comb.  A  comb  used 
for  brood  rearing. 

Brood-frame.  A  frame  con- 
taining a  brood-comb. 

Brood-nest.  The  part  of  the 
hive  where  the  colony  makes 
its  principal  cluster.  The 
place  where  the  eggs  and 
larvse  are  to  be  found. 


Brood-rearing.      The    rearing 

of  young  bees. 

Bulk  Honey.  Honey  cut  from 
the  frames  and  marketed  in 
bulk  as  distinguished  from 
extracted  honey  or  honey  in 
sections.  Also  spoken  of  as 
chunk  honey. 

Burr-comb.  Burr-combs  or 
brace  combs  are  small  bits 
of  comb  built  into  small 
spaces,  between  two  combs, 
or  between  the  frames  and 
other  hive  parts. 

Capping  Melter.  A  container 
made  of  metal  which  is 
heated  to  melt  the  cappings 
as  they  are  cut  from  the 
combs  in  extracting  honey. 

Camiolan  Bees.  A  race  of 
dark  bees,  native  to  the 
province  of  Carniola,  Aus- 
tria. 

Caucasian  Bees.  A  race  of 
dark  bees  native  to  the 
Caucasus. 

Cellar  Wintering.  The  winter- 
ing of  bees  in  a  cellar  as  dis- 
tinguished from  wintering 
on  their  summer  stands,  out 
of  doors. 

Cells.  The  hollows  in  the 
combs  in  which  honey  is 
stored.  These  are  of  two 
sizes;  worker  cells,  which 
measure  about  twenty- 
seven  to  the  square  inch 
and  drone  cells,  which  meas- 
ure about  eighteen  to  the 
square  inch.  They  are  hex- 
agonal in  shape  and  the 
bottom  of  each  cell  is  oppo- 
site one  third  of  each  of 
three  others  on  the  opposite 


GLOSSARY 


171 


side  of  the  comb.  Queen 
cells  are  special  cells  resem- 
bling peanuts  which  are 
built  for  the  rearing  of  the 
queens. 

Cell-cup.  An  artificial  cell 
base  made  of  beeswax  used 
by  queen  breeders  to  serve 
as  queen  cell. 

Cell-Protector.  A  spiral  cov- 
ering made  of  w^re  placed 
over  ripe  queen-cells  to  pre- 
vent the  bees  from  destroy- 
ing them  when  placed  in  a 
strange  hive. 

Chunk-honey  See       Bulk 

Honey. 

Cleansing  Flight.  Since  bees 
do  not  void  their  excrement 
in  the  hive,  but  only  on  the 
wing,  except  when  diseased, 
it  is  necessary  for  frequent 
flights  to  relieve  them  of  the 
accumulated  fseces.  A  cleans- 
ing flight  is  the  first  flight 
after  a  period  of  confine- 
ment. 

Cluster.  The  normal  gather- 
ing together  in  a  compact 
mass.  In  clustering,  the 
bees  hang  together  by  means 
of  the  hooks  on  their  feet. 
The  winter  cluster  is  formed 
when  the  temperature  drops 
to  57  degrees  Farh.  When 
the  swarm  emerges,  a  cluster 
is  formed  on  a  twig  or  other 
convenient  object.  A  cluster 
is  formed  within  the  hive  for 
the  purpose  of  maintaining 
sufficient  heat  for  brood 
rearing.  According  to  Phil- 
lips, brood  rearing  tempera- 
ture rarely  exceeds  97 
degrees. 


Chaff  Cushion.  A  cushion 
filled  with  chaff  or  other 
absorbent,  which  is  some- 
times placed  over  the  frames 
for  the  purpose  of  absorbing 
condensed  moisture  in  cold 
weather. 

Colony.  A  hive  of  bees,  includ- 
ing bees,  eggs,  brood,  etc., 
together  with  combs  and 
equipment. 

Comb.  The  assembled  hexag- 
onal cells  built  of  beeswax 
in  one  frame  by  the  bees.  A 
honey-comb. 

Comb-Foundation.  A  sheet  of 
beeswax  impressed  with  the 
exact  size  and  shape  of  the 
bases  of  the  cells  used  by 
the  bees. 

Comb-honey.  Honey  in  the 
comb.  Usually  applied  to 
honey  in  sections. 

Cyprian  Bees.  A  yellow  race 
of  bees  native  to  the  Island 
of   Cyprus. 

Dadant  Hive.  A  large  hive 
with  eleven  frames  183-^  x 
11^.  The  frames  are  spaced 
\]/2  inches  from  center  to 
center  and  a  dummy  is  used 
to  reduce  the  size  of  the  hive 
for  weak  colonies.  A  straw 
mat  is  used  over  the  frames 
when  supers  are  not  in  place. 

Dadant  System.  A  system  of 
extracted  honey  production 
by  means  of  the  large  Da- 
dant hive.  The  deep  frames 
and  wide  spacing  reduces 
the  amount  of  manipula- 
tion necessary  for  ordinary 
operations  and  largely  con- 
trols swarming. 


172 


GLOSSARY 


Danzenbaker  Hive.     A  small 

hive  with  frames  73^  x  17 
inches.  It  was  very  popu- 
lar for  a  time  but  is  going 
out  of  use. 

Decoy  Hive.  A  hive  placed  in 
a  favorable  situation  for  the 
purpose  of  attracting  stray 
swarms. 

Dividing.  Separating  a  colony 
into  two  or  more  parts  for  the 
purpose  of  making  increase. 

Divisible  Hive.  A  shallow 
hive.     See  Heddon  Hive. 

Division-board.  A  board  made 
of  light  material,  the  same 
size  as  a  frame,  which  hangs 
in  some  hives  the  same  as  a 
frame.  The  idea  was  that 
by  first  removing  the  divi- 
sion board  extra  room  would 
be  available  for  manipu- 
lating the  frames.  The  device 
is  unpractical  and  has  been 
discarded  by  most  bee- 
keepers.    See  Dummy. 

Drifting.  When  bees  are  taken 
from  the  cellar  in' spring  they 
often  become  confused  when 
taking  their  first  flight,  and 
large  numbers  drift  to  the 
strong  colonies,  thus  leav- 
ing others  greatly  weakened. 
The  tendency  to  desert  their 
own  hives  for  those  of 
stronger  colonies  in  early 
spring. 

Drone.    The  male  bee. 

Drone-brood.  Young  male 
bees  in  the  larval  stage. 

Drone-comb.  Honeycomb 
with  cells  averaging  about 
eighteen  to  the  square  inch. 
Comb  in  which  young  drones 
are  reared.    See  Comb. 


Drone-layer.  An  imperfectly 
fertilized  or  unfertilized 
queen.  One  whose  offspring 
are  all  males. 

Drone-trap.  A  trap  made  of 
perforated  zinc  or  wire 
placed  at  the  entrance  of 
the  hive.  The  worker  bees 
pass  through  the  perfora- 
tions but  the  drones,  being 
larger,  are  caught. 

Drumming.  In  transferring 
bees  from  boxes  or  unsatis- 
factory hives,  the  exit  of  the 
bees  is  often  hastened  by 
drumming  or  pounding  on 
the  sides  of  the  old  hive. 

Dimimy.  A  division  board 
made  like  a  frame,  excepting 
that  it  fits  tight  at  both  ends. 
It  is  used  in  the  Dadant  hive 
in  place  of  a  comb  for  the  pur- 
pose of  contracting  the  size  of 
the  hive  for  wintering  or  for 
encouraging  weak  colonies. 

Dzierzon  Theory.  The  theory 
of  parthenogenesis;  that  an 
unfertilized  or  unmated 
queen  can  still  lay  eggs  which 
will  produce  male  offspring. 

Eight-frame  Hives.  The  Lang- 
stroth  hive  of  small  size 
holding  only  eight  instead 
of  ten  frames. 

Entrance  Block.  Small  blocks 
of  wood  used  for  reducing 
the  size  of  the  entrance  to 
prevent  robbing  or  reduce 
the  exposure  to  the  weather. 

Entrance  Guards.  Sheets  of 
perforated  zinc  placed  across 
the  entrance  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  the  queen  when  a 
swarm  issues. 


GLOSSARY 


173 


Egyptian  Bees.  Yellow  bees 
native  to  the  Nile  Valley. 

Equalizing  Brood.  Taking 
brood  from  strong  colonies 
to  give  to  those  which  are 
weaker  for  the  purpose  of 
making  all  colonies  equally 
strong. 

Excluder.  A  contrivance  made 
of  perforated  zinc  or  wire 
which  prevents  the  queen 
from  passing  into  the  supers. 
The  workers,  being  smaller, 
readily  go  through  the  per- 
forations. 

Extracted  Honey.  Honey  re- 
moved from  the  combs  by 
means  of  an  extractor. 

Extracting  Combs.  Combs 
from  which  the  honey  is 
removed  by  means  of  an 
extractor. 
Extractor.  A  machine  for  re- 
moving the  honey  from  the 
comb.  It  consists  of  wire 
baskets  which  revolve  within 
a  large  can.  After  the  combs 
are  uncapped  they  are  placed 
in  the  baskets  and  the  cen- 
trifugal motion  throws  the 
honey  against  the  side  of 
the  can.  It  is  drawn  off  by 
a  faucet  at  the  bottom. 

Fanning  Bees.  In  warm 
weather  a  number  of  bees 
may  be  seen  at  the  entrance 
of  the  hive,  fanning  with 
their  wings  for  the  purpose 
of  creating  air  currents  to 
ventilate  the  hive. 

Fertile  Workers.  In  queenless 
colonies  it  often  happens 
that  some  of  the  worker 
bees    begin    to    lay.      Their 


eggs  are  scattered  about  in  a 
very  irregular  manner.  Be- 
ing incapable  of  mating  only 
maleoff  springresults,  and  the 
colony  is  therefore  doomed. 

Forage.  The  flowering  plants 
from  which  the  bees  gather 
nectar. 

Foulbrood.  Foulbrood  is  of 
two  forms,  American  and 
European,  named  from  the 
countries  where  first  recog- 
nized. Both  diseases  attack 
the  young  bees  in  the  larval 
stage  and  are  very  disas- 
trous  in   neglected   apiaries. 

Foundation.  See  Comb  Foun- 
dation. 

Frames.  The  containers  in 
which  combs  are  built.  The 
invention  of  the  frame  made 
beekeeping  a  commercial 
possibility.  Rev.  L.  L. 
Langstroth  of  Ohio  was  the 
first  to  devise  a  successful 
frame  for  the  beehive. 

GaUup  Hive.  A  hive  with 
square  frames  11 1^  inches 
each  way.  It  is  no  longer 
generally  used. 

German  Bees.  The  common 
bees  of  Europe,  also  called 
Black  Bees.  They  were  the 
first  race  introduced  into 
America  and  for  many  years 
were  the  only  race  known 
here. 

Grading  Rules.  Rules  by 
which  honey  is  graded  for 
market. 

Goldens.  Bright  yellow  Ital- 
ian bees  of  a  strain  which 
have  been  selected  for  their 
bright  color. 


174 


GLOSSARY 


Grauulation  of  Honey.  The 
candying  or  sugaring  of 
honey.  Most  honeys  will 
candy  when  subjected  to 
frequent  changes  of  temper- 
ature. It  can  readily  be 
restored  to  the  liquid  state 
by  placing  the  container  in 
a  tank  of  warm  water  or  in 
any  warm  place.  Care  must 
be  used  not  to  overheat  and 
thus  spoil  the  flavor. 

Green  Honey.  Honey  which 
has  not  been  sufiiciently 
ripened,  and  which  still 
contains  a  large  percentage 
of  moisture. 

Gum.      See  Bee  Gum. 

Heddon  Hive.  A  very  shallow 
hive  with  frames  5%  x  IS^e 
inches  which  created  a  great 
deal  of  discussion  at  the  time 
of  its  introduction.  It  was  also 
known  as  a  divisible  brood- 
chamber  hive. 

Hoffman  Frame.  The  stand- 
ard Langstroth  frame  with 
the  addition  of  a  self  spacing 
feature.  The  end  bars  of 
the  frame  are  cut  wide 
enough  to  insure  proper 
spacing  at  l^g  i  n  c  h  e  s  from 
center  to  center.  A  metal 
spacer  is  sometimes  used 
in  similar  manner. 

Hivestand.  The  base  on  which 
the  beehive  is  placed. 

Holy  Land  Bees.  The 
native  bees  of  Palestine, 
also  known  as  Syrians.  They 
are  similar  to  Italians  in 
appearance  but  have  whiter 
fuzz  rings  on  the  abdomen. 


Honey.  The  evaporated  nec- 
tar of  flowers,  as  stored  in 
wax  cells  by  the  honeybees. 

Honey-board.  A  board  placed 
between  the  hive-body  and 
the  super.  Sometimes  an  ex- 
cluderis  calleda  honey-board, 
and  sometimes  the  board  con- 
taining the  bee-escape  is 
designated  by  this  term. 

Honeycomb.  The  assembled 
waxen  cells  built  by  the  bees 
for  the  storage  of  honey. 
See  Comb. 

Honeydew.  A  sweet  substance 
produced  by  aphides.  The 
term  is  also  applied  to  sweet 
exudations  of  plants  not  the 
product  of  true  nectaries. 

Honeyflow.  When  nectar  is 
coming  to  the  hives  freely 
from  the  fields,  it  is  spoken  of 
as  the  honeyflow.  The  time 
when  honey  is  abundant. 

Honey-gate.  The  faucet  by 
which  the  honey  is  drawn 
from  the  extractor. 

Honey-house.  The  building 
at  the  apiary  where  honey 
and  beekeeping  equipment 
are  stored,  and  which  serves 
as  a  workshop  for  the  bee- 
keeper. 

Honey-sac.  The  honeybag 
or  sac  in  which  the  bees 
carry  the  nectar  from  the 
field.  It  is  also  known  as 
honey-stomach. 

House-apiary.  An  apiary  kept 
entirely  within  a  building 
erected  for  the  purpose.  The 
bees  find  their  way  to  the 
outside  through  entrances 
through  the  wall  from  each 
hive. 


GLOSSARY 


175 


Hybrids.  The  term  hybrid  is 
used  to  indicate  a  cross  be- 
tween two  races  of  bees.  The 
worker  bees  which  are  the 
offspring  of  a  mismated 
queen  are  called  hybrids. 

Italian  Bees.  Yellow  bees 
native  to  Italy. 

Italianizing.  Replacing  ordi- 
nary queens  with  queens  of 
the  Italian  race. 

Inspector.  A  public  official 
whose  duty  it  is  to  examine 
bees  for  foulbrood  and  to 
make  sure  that  proper 
treatment  is  given. 

Langstroth  Hive.  The  stand- 
ard hive  in  America.  The 
frames  are  17?^  x  dji  inches 
in  size. 

Larvae.  The  young  bees  after 
hatching  from  the  egg  and 
before  entering  the  pupal 
stage. 

Laying  Workers.  Worker  bees 
which  lay  eggs.  See  Fertile 
Workers. 

Locality.  The  environment  of 
the  apiary.  The  term  is 
used  with  particular  refer- 
ence to  the  available  pas- 
turage and  the  conditions 
that  may  be  peculiar  to  a 
particular     neighborhood. 

Long  Idea  Hive.  A  hive  used 
by  the  late  O.  O.  Poppleton, 
which  used  no  supers  but 
contained  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  frames  to  permit  of 
removing  surplus  honey 
from  the  hivebody. 

Mating  Hive.  A  small  hive  in 
which  a  small  colony  is  kept 


for  the  purpose  of  getting 
queens  mated.  It  is  used 
by  queen  breeders  who  wish 
to  secure  as  many  queens  as 
possible  for  the  market.  One 
large  colony  can  be  broken  up 
into  several  parts,  and  thus 
serve  to  enable  the  breeder 
to  increase  the  number  of 
queens.  See  Baby  Nucleus. 
Mandibles.  The  jaws  of  an 
insect  which  work  sidewise. 
May  Disease.  A  disease 
attacking  adult  bees  in  the 
spring  of  the  year. 
Midrib.      The   septum   of  the 

honeycomb. 
Miller   Cage.      A    queen   cage 
invented     by     Dr.     C      C 
Miller. 
Mismated     Queen.      An    im- 
purely    mated     queen.       A 
queen  of  one  race  that  has 
mated   with  a   drone  of  an- 
other race. 
Moth-Miller.      The  waxmoth. 

See  Beemoth.  * 
Mother-Bee.  The  queen. 
Movable  Frame.  A  loose 
frame  which  enables  the  bee- 
keeper to  examine  any  part 
of  the  interior  of  the  hive  at 
his  pleasure.  This  term  is 
used  to  distinguish  such  a 
hive  from  the  box  or  skep 

Nectar.  The  sweet  liquid  se- 
creted by  flowers  which  the 
bees  elaborate   into  honey. 

Nectaries.  The  glands  which 
secrete  nectar. 

Neuter.  A  term  sometimes 
applied  to  worker  bees  and 
also  to  ants  which  are  not 
developed  sexually. 


176 


GLOSSARY 


Nucleus.  (Plural  nuclei.)  In 
breaking  up  a  strong  colony 
into  several  parts,  one,  two 
or  three  frames  of  brood 
with  adhering  bees  are  taken 
away  and  placed  in  a  sepa- 
rate hive.  Each  division  is 
given  a  queen  or  ripe  cell. 
These  are  spoken  of  as  one- 
frame  nuclei,  two-frame 
nuclei  or  three-frame  nuclei, 
as  the  case  may  be. 

Nurse  Bees.  The  worker  bees 
which  feed  the  larvse.  The 
newly  emerged  bees  usually 
render  this  service,  while 
older  ones  go  to  the  fields. 

Observation    Hive.      A    hive 

with  glass  walls  which  per- 
mit the  beekeeper  to  observe 
the  actions  of  the  bees. 

Ocelli.  The  simple  eyes  of  the 
bee,  three  in  number  and 
situated  between  the  promi- 
nent compound  eyes. 

Outapiary.  An  apiary  situated 
at  a  distance  from  the  bee- 
keeper's home.  Commer- 
cial beekeeping  is  usually 
carried  on  by  means  of  a 
series  of  outapiaries  two  or 
more  miles  apart. 

Outyard.  The  same  as  out- 
apiary. 

Overstocking.  The  stocking  of 
a  locality  with  more  bees 
than  the  forage  present  will 
support  profitably. 

Package  Bees.  Bees  shipped 
in  packages  without  combs. 

Parent  Colony.  A  colony  from 
which  a  swarm   has    issued. 


Parthenogenesis.  The  pro- 
duction of  offspring  by  an  un- 
fertilized or  unmated  female. 
In  thecaseof  the  bee,  unmat- 
ed queens  and  sometimes 
workers,  lay  eggs  which 
produce  drones.  See  Dzier- 
zon  Theory. 

Pickled  Brood.  A  mild  disease 
attacking  the  larvae.  Sac- 
brood. 

Piping  Queen.  The  notes 
made  by  a  young  queen 
usually  very  soon  after 
emerging  from  the  cell  and 
often  in  response  to  similar 
notes  made  by  one  not  yet 
out  of  the  cell.  The  sound 
made  within  the  cell  is 
called   quahking. 

Pollen.  The  fertilizing  dust 
grains  of  plants.  This  is  used 
by  the  bees  as  food  for  the 
larvse.  A  reserve  supply  is 
stored  in  the  cells  within  the 
hive. 

Pollen  Basket.  The  cavity  on 
the  hind  leg  of  the  worker 
bee  where  she  deposits  pol- 
len to  be  carried  from  the 
field  to  the  hive. 

Pound  Packages.  Packages 
in  which  bees  are  shipped 
without  combs.  These  are 
of  various  sizes  from  one 
pound    capacity    upward. 

Prime  Swarm.  The  first 
swarmto  issue  from  acolony. 
See  Afterswarm. 

Propolis.  A  gummy  substance 
or  glue  which  the  bees 
gather  to  close  up  crevices 
within  the  hive. 

Pimic  Bees.  See  Tunisian 
Bees. 


GLOSSARY 


177 


Pupa.  The  third  stage  in  the 
transformation  of  an  insect. 
The  period  during  which 
the  young  bee  is  sealed  up 
within  the  cell  and  receives 
no  food. 

Quahking.  The  sound  made 
by  a  young  queen  before  she 
emerges  from  the  cell.  See 
Piping. 

Queen.  The  mother-bee.  A 
sexually  developed  female 
honeybee. 

Queen-cage.  A  small  cage  for 
the  purpose  of  confining 
queen  bees. 

Queen-cell.  The  cell  in  which 
the  young  queen  is  reared. 
It  is  larger  than  other  cells 
and  of  a  different  shape, 
resembling  a  peanut. 

Queen  Clipping.  The  wings  of 
the  queen  are  often  clipped 
to  prevent  her  escaping 
with  a  swarm. 

Queen-excluder.  See  Excluder. 

Queen  Failing.  A  queen  which 
is  no  longer  capable  of  lay- 
ing the  usual  number  of  eggs. 
An  old  queen. 

Queen  Introduction.  The  in- 
troduction of  a  queen  bee  to 
a  strange  colony.  A  strange 
queen  will  seldom  be  accept- 
ed.  See  Balling  Queens, 

Queenless.  A  condition  where 
no  queen  is  present  in  a  hive. 

Queen-trap.  A  trap  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  the 
escape  of  a  queen  with  a 
swarm.  See  Drone-trap, 
Queenright.  The  normal  con- 
dition of  a  colony  with  a 
laying  queen  present. 
12 


Quinby  Hive.  The  original 
large  hive  with  deep  frame, 
183^x11^.    inches   in   size. 

Requeening.  The  replacing  of 
one  queen  with  another. 
Beekeepers  make  a  practice 
of  requeening  at  intervals 
to  insure  good  stock. 

Ripe  Cell.  A  queen-cell  con- 
taining a  young  queen  ready 
to  emerge. 

Ripe  Honey.  Honey  that  has 
been  left  in  the  care  of  the 
bees  until  the  moisture  is 
evaporated  and  it  is  of  a 
sufficient  density  to  keep 
indefinitely  without  spoiling. 

Robbing.  The  taking  of  the 
honey  from  one  colony  of 
bees  by  bees  from  other 
hives. 

Royal  Jelly.  A  thick,  white 
paste  fed  by  the  bees  to  the 
young.  It  is  given  in  special 
abundance  to  young  queens. 

Sacbrood.  A  mild  disease 
attacking  the  larvae.  It 
somewhat  resembles  foul- 
brood,  but  is  not  as  malig- 
nant. It  often  disappears  of 
itself  without  special  treat- 
ment.   Pickled  brood. 

Sections.  Small  containers 
made  of  wood  of  the  right 
size  to  hold  one  pound  of 
comb  honey  when  com- 
pletely filled. 

Sealed  Brood.  Brood  which 
has  been  sealed  over.  Young 
bees  in  the  pupal  stage  of 
transformation. 

Separator.  A  thin  sheet  of 
wood  or  other  material  used 


178 


GLOSS.\RY 


in  the  super  to  separate  the 
rows  of  sections.  It  is  de- 
signed to  insure  even  filling 
of  the  section  boxes. 

Septum.  The  layer  of  wax 
between  the  two  rows  of 
cells  composing  a  honey- 
comb. The  middle  of  the 
comb. 

Shake  Swarming.  The  arti- 
ficial making  of  a  swarm  by 
shaking  the  bees  into  a  new 
hive  and  leaving  them  to 
begin  anew,  as  a  natural 
swarm  must  do. 

Self  Spacing  Frames.  The 
Hoffman  frame  which  has 
the  end  bars  wider,  thus 
insuring  that  they  will  not 
be  crowded  too  close  to- 
gether in  the  hive. 

Skep.  A  hive  without  frames, 
made  of  straw. 

Skeppist.  A  beekeeper  who 
keeps  bees  in  skeps. 

Slumgum.  The  refuse  that 
remains  after  the  wax  has 
been  rendered  from  combs. 

Smoker.  An  implement  for 
controlling  bees  by  means  of 
burning  some  combustible 
material  in  a  metal  holder. 
The  smoke  is  driven  out  by 
means  of  a  bellows. 

Spring  Dwindling.  The  grad- 
ual weakening  of  a  colony 
of  bees  until  it  is  useless  or 
dies  in  early  spring.  The 
cause  is  usually  improper 
food  or  neglect  during  the 
winter  months. 

Starter.  A  narrow  strip  of 
foundation  used  in  frames 
to  insure  that  the  bees  will 
start  the  combs  lengthwise 


of  the  frame,  instead  of 
building  them  naturally, 
in  uneven  or  wavy  lines. 

Stimulative  Feeding.  The 
feeding  of  small  amounts  of 
thin  syrup  in  imitation  of  a 
light  honeyflow.  Liberal 
feeding  and  done  with  it  is 
considered  better  beekeeping 
except  when  it  is  necessary 
to  create  abnormal  condi- 
tions in  queen  rearing. 

Sting.  The  barbed  appendage 
of  the  honeybee. 

Straw  Mat.  A  mat  made  of 
straw  used  over  the  frames 
in  the  Dadant  hive. 

Super.  The  part  of  the  hive 
where  surplus  honey  is 
stored. 

Supersedure.  When  the  bees 
replace  their  queen  with  a 
young  one  without  atten- 
tion on  the  part  of  the 
beekeeper,  it  is  called 
supersedure. 

Surplus  Honey.  Honey  re- 
maining to  be  removed  over 
and  above  an  amount  suffi- 
cient for  the  bees. 

Swarm.  The  natural  division 
of  the  colony,  whereby  the 
old  queen  and  most  of  the 
field  bees  leave  the  hive  to 
found  a  new  colony,  leaving 
the  young  bees  and  a  young 
queen  or  a  queen-cell.  The 
normal  method  of  increase 
of  the  bee  colony. 

Swarm-box.  A  box  covered 
with  screen  in  which  to 
confine  shaken  bees  when 
making  artificial  divisions 
or  stocking  nuclei. 


GLOSSARY 


179. 


Syrian  Bees.  The  Holy  Land 
Bees.  A  yellow  race  native 
to  Palestine. 

Ten-Frame  Hive.  The  stand- 
ard Langstroth  hive  with 
ten  frames. 

Tested  Queen.  A  queen  that 
has  been  tested  by  observing 
her  offspring  to  make  sure 
that  she  has  been  purely 
mated. 

Tunisian  Bees.  Black  bees 
native  to  the  North  Coast 
of  Africa.     The  Punic  bees. 

Uncapping  Knife.  A  knife 
used  for  removing  the  cap- 
pings  from  the  honeycomb 
in  preparation  for  extracting. 

Unripe  Honey.  Green  honey. 
Honey  containing  an  excess 
of  moisture. 

Unsealed  Brood.  Brood  which 
has  not  yet  completed  the 
larval  stage  of  development. 
At  the  end  of  six  days  after 
hatching  the  young  larvae 
complete  their  growth  and 
their  cells  are  sealed  over. 


Virgin.    An  unmated  queen. 

Wax.  The  material  used  by  the 
bees  in  building  their  combs. 

Wax  Extractor.  An  imple- 
ment for  separating  the 
wax  from  the  slumgum  in 
rendering  combs. 

Wax  Worm.     See  Beemoth. 

Wiring  Frames.  The  placing 
of  wires  across  the  frames 
when  putting  in  foundation, 
to  support  the  combs  later 
to  be  built  by  the  bees. 

Wax  Pockets.  The  receptacles 
between  the  segments  on 
the  under  side  of  the  abdo- 
men of  the  worker  bee 
where  the  wax  scales  are 
produced. 

Worker.  An  imperfectly  de- 
veloped female  bee.  The 
neuter.  In  every  hive  there 
are  thousands  of  workers 
which  perform  all  the  labor 
of  the  colony. 

Worker-comb'  Honeycomb 
containing  cells  of  the  size 
for    rearing    worker    bees. 

Wedding  Flight.  The  queen's 
mating  flight. 


